“I Wanted To Move Out The First Week I Moved in”

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — “The only time they leave the house is to go to school and come back home,” says Rhonda Hill. Imagine living in a neighborhood, where you were afraid to let your kids play outside and even more afraid to let anyone inside. For Rhonda Hill, a single mother of three girls, that was life. “You don’t want your kids to go outside, you don’t want your kids to make friends with other kids. Because, you don’t know who is in the gangs and who’s not,” says Hill. Rhonda has lived in St. Andrews Point for four years now. She was there when it seemed like the gangs were going to take over. “If they told you that person was, they were beaten pretty bad just to be in a gang. Back then, you didn’t know who your neighbors were, you didn’t know who to trust,” says Hill. Soon, things changed. First, new management, then residents and management joined forces and called in even more help, from the Richland County Sheriff’s Office. We rode along with Lt. Rafael Gonzalez, who’s with the CAT, the Community Action Team. Lt. Gonzalez, told us just how bad things were when residents called for help. “They showed up in droves, you had college students, you had folks that lived there for years that were fearing for their safety,” says Lt. Gonzalez. CAT officers work with local communities to keep crime out. “The last thing that should be on your mind is whether or not something is going to happen to you,” says Lt. Gonzalez. Monday, officers were getting ready for National Night Out. “It’s about fighting back and taking back your neighborhood,” says Lt. Gonzalez That exactly what happened at St. Andrews Point. The community reached out for help, and deputies responded. Something Rhonda Hill, says she’s grateful for. “We know that they are there, the criminals know that they are there. It’s nice to let your kids go outside and play and to be able to peak your head out every few moments to be sure they are alright, because you know the police are out there, whether you are out there or not the police are out there,” says Hill.