MACON, Ga. — Pleasant Hill is celebrating a big milestone: It's been more than a year since the neighborhood's last homicide.
Friday afternoon, a neighborhood anti-violence program, Cure Violence Macon, helped the neighborhood mark the occasion with a picnic.
"It's been 369 days of anyone not being unalived in the Pleasant Hill community," Courtney Ates, the group's outreach director, said.
It's more than a year of peace in one of Macon's most historic neighborhoods. It's also more than a year since Valerie Hodges last felt like she couldn't use her front porch.
"Drive-bys on the block. Shot a boy two doors down from me, and my sister was just coming from the store around the corner," Hodges said.
There's been a shift in the neighborhood she attributes to Cure Violence.
"I can pick up the phone and call somebody and say, 'I hear some shooting.' And it's not a problem," she said.
The group uses community connections to get to the core of the problem.
"They could've been shooting five or ten minutes ago. We're going to come on that scene and we're going to find out from the family members, and even the community members about how they're feeling about what's going on in the neighborhood," Ates said.
It's those same community connections they hope get through to the next generation. They offer mentorship and a clubhouse for young people to use when they need a break or some guidance.
"It's cozy, and it keeps me safe. Like, I feel safe in there. And I get to watch TV and chill," Zaishawn Thomas-Hall said.
Cure Violence says they plan to expand the program to the rest of Macon-Bibb so everyone can see progress like Pleasant Hill.