Uglyhead

There has been a recent uptick of crime in our old neighborhood of St. Elmo. Most of it has been typical property theft and vandelism. The fact that it has been worsening, both in terms of frequency and time of day, has many of the members of the community concerned. While we still miss our old bungalow, part of us is glad that we left when we did. If you look at the crime map that one industrious person made, you will see that our house is not too far removed from the spree (4700 block of Florida Ave).

We had our fair share of it when we lived there. Our cars were broken into twice. Our house was then burglarized while we were at church. Both events precipiated the installation of alarms. While we felt quite violated, the effect eventually wore off. After all, we told ourselves that petty crime exists everywhere (even in rich neighborhoods).

However, on Saturday night the crime went way beyond any line of tolerance. A man was found shot dead in an alley right near the home of some friends and fellow church members. He was a Lousisana evacuee living in a nearby shelter. Even if it turns out to be drug related, it is disturbing nonetheless.

There is still hope for the community. The St. Elmo Improvement League has been trying live up to its namesake for a while. In my opinion it has struggled to garner broad community support and action. I look at other communities that have revitalized and sense that St. Elmo is missing something. Maybe this rash of crime will be what it takes to bring together the various factions and unify them to make St. Elmo a better place?