ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Nobody told Allison Browne what to expect when she bought her home in the South French Broad Avenue neighborhood two summers ago.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that she certainly didn't picture prostitutes standing in front of her house on Bartlett Street every day to meet customers behind a nearby church while her 5-year-old daughter played on the sidewalk.

Nor did she imagine finding people openly selling drugs in the neighborhood park.

But, she isn't leaving. Browne and a group of neighbors have taken action, helping police crack down on illegal activity and calling on residents to keep a watchful eye.

The South French Broad Neighborhood Association has a clear message for criminals.

"We're showing that we have no patience for it anymore. It's not OK," said Browne, who moved to Asheville from Minneapolis.

Although crime continues, with reports of a rape and armed robberies nearby in recent weeks, residents say they've seen their streets change for the better in a short time.

Older residents remember a time when the South French Broad community was one of the finest in Asheville. Civic leaders and business owners kept up their homes and lawns and made friends with the people next door.

But as one generation passed away or sold their property, the area changed. Careless tenants moved in, starting less-than-reputable businesses. Break-ins increased. People started locking their doors. That's how longtime homeowner Rosa Weaver Walker remembers it.

Walker said her once-safe neighborhood became overrun with pimps, prostitutes and drug dealers. One day she had to call the police because a woman had passed out in her front yard.

"My children would come home, and I would tell them, 'Don't you go by yourself. Someone (needs to) go with you if you visit a neighbor,'" said Walker, who is 87.

"It was just so sad to lose a neighborhood like that," she said.

Browne said when her family moved to Asheville, they found a sense of hopelessness among some residents who thought the city wasn't paying attention to their neighborhood.

That didn't keep Browne and her husband from calling police constantly and writing letters to the City Council.

Their efforts and those of like-minded neighbors resulted in the city organizing a community meeting last summer at the local Brown Temple church to address neighborhood problems. About 100 people attended.

Afterward, residents threw a community barbecue to help neighbors get to know each other. From this event, the neighborhood association formed.

A community resource officer from the Asheville Police Department now comes to their monthly meetings to listen to concerns, and officers also help with neighborhood clean up days and other activities.

The strong relationship that has formed between community resource officer Jackie Stepp and residents has helped police combat crime in the area more effectively.

"They know more than we know about what's going on in their community. They see the problems more than we see the problems," Stepp said.

"Nobody's gonna pick up a prostitute in front of a police car. They're the ones that see it, and they can relay that information," she said.

Browne said Stepp is always available to residents to address small and big problems in the neighborhood.

Walker said at one time she and others were afraid to report crimes.

But, once people in the neighborhood started meeting together to voice their concerns to police, their spirit changed.

"We were really afraid, but once we're organized, we got the gist of it, we knew how to operate," said Walker.

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