For those of us outside of the New Orleans area, it's hard to believe that it has been four years since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita touched down on August 29, 2005. But for those people who either lived there and stayed or were displaced by the storms, it's as if that horrific day just happened. New Orleans has been slow to recover. Businesses are still feeling the pinch, even more now in this economic recession. Residents continue to be haunted by what they experienced that day and even more by what they saw in the days that followed. But through the rubble, there are small examples of community revitalization gleaming through. One of those diamonds in the rough is the newly developed Harmony Oaks, the first major housing project redevelopment program to come back to the area. Formally known as the CJ Peete projects (and before that the Magnolia projects), Harmony Oaks will bring back many former CJ Peete residents and offer them homes in the now mixed-income community, which will include 460 rental units and 50 affordable, for-sale, single-family homes starting this fall.

The memory of segregated housing amongst low-income people will be replaced with the promise of new homes with better services and amenities including a new elementary school and job placement services and a range of new neighbors from various socio-economic levels who will add stability to the neighborhood.

Antoinette Morton, 31, is one of those former residents. The mother of four ages 13 to 4-years old is a native to New Orleans and moved to Baker, Louisiana after the storm. She is the only one in her extended family to move back to the city. Morton spoke to ESSENCE.com exclusively about her experiences in the days after Katrina, why she moved her entire family back and why Harmony Oaks is more than just a piece of property to her.

I moved into CJ Peete in 1998 after having my second child. I loved living there but I admit that anything could have happened when I walked out my door. I was living there the day that Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. I had just had my youngest daughter who was about a month old at the time. I remember, the only reason I stayed was because so many people were saying, ‘Girl, nothing is going to come.' We stood and waited around. It wasn't until the day after Katrina hit that the floods started to happen and that's the day we left.

It was a hot, miserable day. We packed at least 16-people, all relatives, into a SUV. We grabbed what was important like birth certificates left with what we could. My son has sickle cell disease so I needed to take his medication, then I grabbed milk and diapers for the baby. We left all our clothes behind. It was a horrible time for us.

We were listening to the radio and heard that a stadium had opened up and turned into a shelter in Baton Rouge. The people, who couldn't get a ride out, went to the Super Dome and we knew exactly how packed that was going to be. Baton Rouge was the closest place to New Orleans so that's where we went. It took us 12 hours to get there and once we did, we still had to stand on line for hours to get in.

Living in the shelter was so bad I used to cry every day. We had to shower in the bathroom, just washing up using the sinks. Think of doing that after 25 to 30 people have already done it. They finally made a make-shift shower on the outside, which was bad too because it was open and anyone could have just walked in. I ended up staying there for three months.

I was ready to get out of there and find an apartment, but I didn't want to leave my baby with anyone. We tried many times to get housing and we got on the waiting list. Nothing came through until we moved into a FEMA trailer in Baker, Louisiana, in December 2005.