Karen Thomas has lived in the Northeast Neighborhood her entire life.

Ms. Thomas helped found the Northeast Neighborhood Association in 2006 and she is the current NENA President. When a murder happened in the area, the community didn’t step down. This moved Thomas and other concerned citizens to found the Northeast Neighborhood Association. “I had seen so many neighborhood watch programs come and go. There’s always a big to-do about it, then, when it dies down, people go home.”  Thomas states. Harrisonburg can be proud of what it does when it comes together. And there are few examples in the Friendly City as noteworthy as the Northeast Neighborhood Association’s community effort to make their area a safer place. “The Northeast Neighborhood Association not only addresses crime within their community, but we work to alleviate our community by restoring the history, maintaining the beauty of the neighborhood. and addressing any and all problems the community or individuals within the area face.”