Indianapolis (WTHR) — Bernie Price walks down her neighborhood street on the city's southside, pointing out some of the recent improvements.
"See that yellow house with the fence," she asks. "That's another one that's been fixed up."
Bernie knows a lot about the area. She's lived in Bean Creek, an older working class neighborhood for 43 years.
But it wasn't until last year she became Bean Creek's go-to person. It happened after a 78-year-old neighbor was badly beaten during a home invasion.
Bernie recalls rushing over to his house after getting word. "He was sitting in a chair covered in blood, and I said, 'Jim it's going to be okay. We're going to get help.'"
Help for him and ultimately her fellow neighbors shaken by the crime.
"It wasn't 45 hours later I said to myself, 'you need to do something,'" Bernie said.
That "something" was resurrecting the neighborhood association which had been inactive for several years. She wanted to connect people, "get them talking and knowing each other," so they could look out for one another and look for ways to make Bean Creek a safer and better place to live.
"I like helping because everyone needs help at some point in their life," Bernie said.
Bernie also reached out to IMPD southeast district and began monthly holding neighborhood meetings, which draw anywhere from 30-to-50 people.
She said they talk about everything from filling potholes and picking up litter, to adding streetlights and encouraging more home ownership.
And if there's "a serious incident in the neighborhood," they receive a report she shares on the "neighborhood blast" email.
Her efforts earned her an IMPD crime fighter of the year award in 2016, but she says what makes her happiest is simply helping others.
"To quote something my mom told me years ago, it's nice to do something for someone that you know could probably never pay you back," she said. "And the bottom line, to me, that's what it's all about."