As a resident of the Montopolis area, there are certain things Delwin Goss has gotten used to -- loud planes, increasing traffic.
But Delwin Goss said he refuses to tolerate the crime.
"I don't want to be 70 years old laying on the floor at night
because I hear a drive by out on the street in front of me," Goss said.
Austin Police Department officer Heather Goad said Montopolis is one of the city's high-crime areas.
Candace Carpenter lives in the neighborhood and knows exactly how bad it can be sometimes.
"People in my neighborhood are sick of their doors getting kicked in and their windows getting smashed out and things getting tagged," Carpenter said.
Combatting this crime has always been a challenge.
"We're not organized and we are not asking for the solutions to our problems," she said.
Carpenter hopes that will change with the creation of the Montopolis Neighborhood Association.
Carpenter, Doss and resident Fred McGhee spearheaded efforts that came to fruition Saturday during the first neighborhood association meeting.
"Neighborhood associations speak for a neighborhood. They speak to the city. They speak amongst themselves. They speak to developers. They speak to the outside world," McGhee said.
Goad said these neighbors are on the right track.
"The more voices that city council hears the more we can get
done because we have the backing," Goad said.
McGhee hopes that proves to be true for his neighborhood.
"Montopolis has crime issues. It's also disproportionately poor.
But it's also a strong community with a strong history. People here who have been here and are from here feel a strong sense of pride," McGhee said.
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Montopolis 'hood
Southeast Austin residents say they are standing up and taking action by forming a neighborhood association.
 
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A sense of pride neighbors say they are tired of having overshadowed by crime.
