‘Progress’: Efforts work to reduce violence at west Charlotte apartment complex
Channel 9 reported on multiple shootings at the Little Rock Apartments off West Boulevard in Charlotte, but a community response is proving to have an effect.
Those who live in the Little Rock Apartments have seen their share of cop cars and evidence markers. A scary stretch this past summer saw three shootings in a matter of weeks.
“It was bad; a lot of folks running around with firearms,” Bart Noonan told Channel 9 Crime Reporter Hunter Sáenz.
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Noonan runs West Boulevard Ministry down the street from the apartment complex. He mentors children in the community, including eight who live in the apartments.
“We care for these children like they’re our own,” Noonan said. “They’ve had to duck underneath police tape at different times to go into their homes. That’s not right for anybody.”
Noonan has called for change, and Inlivian, which runs the complex, listened.
Sáenz obtained a letter from Inlivian to Charlotte leaders saying they’ve gone 45 days with no violent crimes at the complex. That’s a 29% reduction in crime, Inlivian says.
Inlivian is crediting several newly implemented solutions, including armed security guards, a surveillance tower manned by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, and enhanced cameras that Inlivian can access any time of day.
“I think we’ve made progress, I think Inlivian opened the door to communication,” Noonan said. “I think that’s fantastic, and I applaud them for that.”
Now, Noonan just hopes those solutions will stay in place, preventing crimes and keeping kids safe.
“We need to continue applying the pressure because we don’t want to lose a life,” he said
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Sáenz reached out to Inlivian for an interview but didn’t hear back on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Noonan said many of the families that he helps tell him about safety concerns at their Inlivian-run complexes. He hopes the change at the Little Rock Apartments can be an example and be broadened out to other affordable housing complexes.
(WATCH: City approves $17.5M for affordable housing)
