A housing voucher helped Lebrenia Parker  survive—now she owns a home in the ZIP code she grew up in

By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com

Born and raised in Baltimore’s Park Heights neighborhood, Labrenia Parker had to grow up fast. Her mother died when she was just 3, and when she became a young mother herself, her father—a preacher—disapproved.

Parker was essentially forced out of her home. 

“I didn’t have any type of guidance—nobody to say this is right, this is wrong, go left, go right,” said Parker. “I had to grow up and try to figure everything out on my own.” 

This included her housing. Parker and her children experienced homelessness and spent time sleeping on the floors at friends’ houses. Eventually, she was introduced to an individual involved in the Housing Choice Voucher Program, commonly known as Section 8. The connection led to her getting her own voucher. 

“I just couldn’t wait. I didn’t care if I didn’t have a piece of furniture in my house. I knew I had somewhere safe to go with my children and we didn’t have to live on somebody’s floor or squat in an empty house,” said Parker. “It was somewhere I could call home.” 

She had no idea that a few years later she would purchase her own home. 

Though her housing voucher had finally provided a stable place to live, she said the program was just as much of a blessing as it was a curse. It made her feel stuck. If she earned too much money or got a second job, it would put her over the income limit for Section 8 housing. But, without additional income, she also could not afford to move anywhere else. 

Parker decided to join the Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) program to help her work toward financial independence. During a meeting in 2024, she heard a presentation from Justin Walker, a realtor and the branch manager of Paramount Residential Mortgage Group (PRMG) in the Inner Harbor. 

“It was the last seminar that I went to, and he was just so adamant about the fact that he could help us get to where we needed to be. He said we just needed to have a good credit score, have a job we have stayed in for a long time and not have a bunch of student loans,” said Parker. “I felt like he was talking to me. I didn’t have student loans. I paid my bills on time. My credit score was 700-something. I was about to pay off my car. After the seminar, I told him I wanted to talk to him.” 

Walker himself became a telemarketer when he was 14 after seeing an advertisement for a position in a newspaper. Just a few years later, he became a loan officer. From there, he continued rising through the ranks. In 2022, he joined PRMG. 

After learning about Parker’s story, he promised her that he would help to make her dream of homeownership become a reality. He helped her get her assets and documentation, like pay stubs and bank statements, in order. He also helped her save nearly $30,000 toward the home purchase. 

“I was able to secure funding for her from a few different grants from the city of Baltimore,” said Walker. “I was also able to negotiate a seller concession, where the seller contributed funds toward closing costs.” 

Walker pointed out that this is not typical for most lenders. 

“A lot of lenders frown upon helping people with grants these days, and I think that’s terrible. It is extra work for us, and we don’t receive any extra money for doing it—if anything, grants can lower the deal and people’s commission,” said Walker. “But, I think that’s horrible. I run toward grants for my clients.” 

Thanks to Walker’s support, Parker recently bought a home in West Baltimore. It’s located in the same ZIP code she grew up in. Still in the throes of moving, she said becoming a first-time homeowner has yet to sink in. 

She wants other people to know that owning a home is possible for them, regardless of their circumstances, but they have to be serious about it. 

“I’m not better than you. I’ve been where you are. I’ve been homeless,” said Parker. “If a little girl from Park Heights can do it, you can do it too.”