MOVING IN ON VIOLENCE

Residents of Boston's Lyndhurst Street have a new neighbor, at least for a
week.

"Heartbroken" over violence that has visited a corner of the Dorchester
neighborhood this summer, the Rev. Bruce Wall and his supporters were set
to move into an apartment yesterday with their sleeping bags and a
much-needed message for the thugs hanging out nearby:

They are not wanted.

Four people were shot, one fatally, in the neighborhood in June, and
reports of drug activity have poured in to police.

While Boston police have launched an initiative to crack down on violence
in some city neighborhoods this summer, Wall sees his mission rather
differently.

"As a black male, I'm going to the street as a big daddy, and we're going
to be very aggressive in telling the kids, 'You've got to stop this,' "
Wall said.

His weeklong move is temporary, but if done right, it has the potential to
be more than symbolic.

Wall and his team are working to help residents of the neighborhood
organize crime watches that should last well beyond the week his team is in
residence.

He is planning to confront absentee landlords who let drug dealers move in,
threatening the peace of the community with the drugs and guns they carry.

Wall says there are well-known drug distribution centers in the area.
Working with police, he wants to identify the homes where trafficking goes
on and root them out.

The well-known pastor and his supporters occupied other city neighborhoods
in the '80s in an effort to stare down drug dealers and gangs.

The pastor knows the TV cameras will leave the neighborhood once he does,
and he knows, as we all do, that the neighborhood will need more than just
a week's worth of publicity.

But if Wall and his team succeed at even a few of their goals, they could
have an impact that will last long after they move out.