INDIANAPOLIS — A local anti-violence organization is calling for help from the community after a recent string of homicides at the intersection of 75th Street and Shadeland Avenue.
“We just like to do our part to advocate for our residents in the area and advocate for businesses,” said Jodie Shrum, a substation manager for the North Shadeland Alliance.
The grassroots organization started in 2020 after a rise in violence on Indianapolis' northeast side.
“It advocates for residents — businesses, places of worship all through the North Shadeland corridor between 82nd and Fall Creek Road,” said Joe Garrison, the organization's co-founder.
The alliance started after a worker was killed during a robbery at a Subway in the 7400 block of North Shadeland Avenue.
Members of the North Shadeland Alliance take weekly walks through the Lake Castleton Apartments complex to help combat crime and connect with residents in the community.
“I think everybody deserves a safe place to live. I have young children. A lot of people in my neighborhood and I think people deserve to have a community where they can ride their bikes safely and walk the streets safely,” Shrum said.
Those weekly walks have helped take a step in the right direction for the community, members say.
“It’s really all about building relationships so that over time (we) can build relationships where we can get information and help IMPD,” Garrison added.
WRTV's homicide data show there hasn’t been a homicide around that intersection this year.
“It seems like lately, it's getting a little controlled,” Guillermo Cuevas, Co-owner of family-run business Chile Verde Mexican Grill.
“We just have to work together to control the violence and just make this community a better place to live,” Cuevas said.
