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Before the last census, District 24 was District 17, and classified in the 2010 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index as the "most suffering" congressional district in the nation in the category of life evaluation, or how people described their quality of life, and the third most miserable district overall. This annual survey also assesses healthy behavior, work environment, and access to health services.

After being elected to Congress and learning that access to health services was the largest contributing factor to the "most suffering" rating, I was more determined than ever to ensure that the Liberty City Health Clinic was built. It not only meets the health care needs of thousands of residents, but also provides much needed jobs in the community. In addition, the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution to address the underlying causes of the district's poor showing and to seek ways to enhance its prosperity.

In 2012, District 17 became District 24 and was redrawn to include PortMiami, the Brickell financial district and the Jackson Health System complex, transforming the economic landscape.

PortMiami, the gateway for Florida trade, contributes more than $27 billion annually to South Florida's economy and helps generate 207,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs. Because it is a nonresidential area and has no voting population, it is unconscionable to even consider removing this vibrant economic driver from a community that has come to depend on it for good paying jobs.

The same is true of the Jackson Medical System complex, which employs more than 11,000 workers, and the Brickell financial district, which helped lift District 24 out of poverty.

If CP-1 is adopted, District 24 could once again become the nation's "most suffering." Instead of continuing to cultivate economic growth, congressional, state, and local government offices will be forced to focus almost exclusively on the inevitable problems that come with areas comprised of concentrated poverty and no economic drivers. Efforts to create jobs, attract new businesses and strengthen the district's financial health and vitality will be replaced with solving problems related to housing, domestic violence, incarceration and others that overwhelm communities in which there is little hope of escaping poverty.

Isolating poor people behind district lines is as much a violation of the spirit of the Voting Rights Act as intentionally separating races for voting purposes to give one party a political advantage. To my chagrin, the CP-1 map drawn by the Fair Districts Coalition is anything but fair. I hope that the justices tasked by the state Supreme Court to make the final decision will pay close attention to CP-1. I beg them to not allow District 24 to revert back to the "most suffering" district in the nation.