Criminal Measures

September 8, 2013

From a Block Club member: “…These people need to go. I will….stir something up if I can get the number. I now feel that if we are going to be sitting in our yard I need to be armed, which I was last night. I am going to also say that the crime wave around this area has been getting worse ever since a larger population of blacks have moved in the area and I am not the only one who feels that way. I don’t worry about being politically correct I am just calling it as I see it.”

I am beginning to understand that a larger commitment needs to take place in our neighborhood.  There are far more neighborhoods, all across the country, dealing with similar issues, and assuredly some have resolved the challenges. New Orleans, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Milwaukee, Shreveport, Salem, Wichita, Boise, every area that has been touched by poverty, desperation, boredom, latch-key kids, diminishing school lunch programs, downsizing, and addiction. If we leave the area it does not solve the problem. If the perpetrators move, they infiltrate another neighborhood. Who do we turn to for assistance? The former tenants from upstairs were evicted since they were unable to pay their utility bill yet we cannot count on that resolving the underlying theme. Crime is rising, people are afraid, taking more risks to gain access to something they do not have and on the other side, protect themselves and their stuff. The community has to find a way to pull together, create hope, the assurance of a safe place to live, to trust, educate, and feel worthy.  Together we can do it yourself.