West Charlotte Couple Trying To Put Stop To Violence In Community

In a few days, people in two West Charlotte neighborhoods will find fliers in their doors inviting them to a neighborhood meeting organizers hope will create positive change and safer streets.

There have been two recent acts of deadly violence in West Charlotte. First, police said a woman was stabbed to death inside her home on Effingham Road. Days later, a cashier was shot and killed during a robbery inside a sweepstakes center on Tuckaseegee Road.

For 15 years, Gwendolyn Brown-Johnson and her husband, Artis, have provided a safe haven for children at the Parkview Community Center, which is just a few blocks away from both crime scenes. Now the Johnsons are shifting their focus to the adults in the community. The couple is organizing a community meeting in hopes of revitalizing the neighborhood associations in the Parkview Community and in the Enderly Park neighborhood just across the street. The plan is to merge the two groups.

Mrs. Johnson said, "We feel like we can do more with two groups together than one can and we want people to come out who want to see change."

The Johnsons have lived in West Charlotte for 28 years. Despite the recent violence, Artis Johnson said there was a time when things were worse. He said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police have helped to significantly curb crime in the area. However, he fears what might happen if the people who live in the area don't take action. "It's on the border line of going back to the way it was before." Artis Johnson added, "If they want to see change in the neighborhood they need to get involved and try to better it."

Even with the recent homicides, police said there is still a decrease in violent crime in the area. A captain at the Metro Division in West Charlotte said any effort to give neighbors a stronger voice is a good idea.

The community meeting is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 11 at 9:00 a.m. It will be held at the Bette Rae Thomas Center located at 2921 Tuckaseegee Road. For more information, call 704-391-8853.