Mary Thomas used to admire the freshly painted houses overlooking green grass and trimmed hedges in her Fairfields neighborhood. She loved watching the children play outside.
That was 32 years ago. When Thomas and her husband moved to their Plank Road apartment, it was a nice place to live, a neighborhood that she was proud to call home.
Now the lawn outside her building has turned to mud, littered with empty beer cans and overturned plastic chairs. Other families have moved elsewhere, leaving behind blighted properties and dilapidated houses. Violent crime is a persistent threat, and one that has touched Thomas’ own family. Read more.