CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Beth Tedder is no stranger to her neighbors along Woodthrush Drive in east Charlotte and they are no stranger to her.
That’s why she started a neighborhood watch a year ago.
On Tuesday night, neighbors are celebrating that one year anniversary at the National Night Out event where communities all over the country are taking a stand against crime and meeting neighbors.
"When people learn their names, suddenly your neighbor becomes a person. They're not just a house with this lady that lives in it anymore. They're a real neighbor,” said Tedder, the Neighborhood Watch Group Coordinator.
Tedder said things have gotten better over the past several months.
“For a long period, our calls for service increased tremendously, but that's because people were calling in things they saw,” she said. “They would call in that suspicious car, whereas before they might say ‘Who is that out there’ and close the blinds."
But in the past year, they’ve had their share of bumps in the road.
Back in March, just a couple of houses down the street shots were fired at about 5 a.m. during a home invasion. At the time, police said drugs may have been involved.
"We all were very scared" said Tedder. "And they all came out and were all shooting each other in the streets.”
"Children could've been shot," said Tedder.
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.
Since then, she said it’s been very quiet and she hopes it stays that way.
Tedder said they’ve also started a Kids Watch Program where children take part in community service projects.
She said of the 34 homes in her neighborhood, all but one are part of the Neighborhood Watch Program.
