By Katie Coiro

Sarah Hanlon, 20, moved into Mission Hill to live in a packed house.

“I live with six girls, so it’s a lot of fun,” she said. “You never know what’s going to happen next. It keeps you on your toes. And I think that’s, like, a really big part of being a teenager and being in college and stuff.”

Hanlon, a student at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science, spoke with The Scope in spring 2017, six months after moving in. She doesn’t play a large role in the community, but plans to stay through graduation.

Shortly before she was interviewed, there had been a triple shooting in the neighborhood, leaving one young person dead.

“There was a shooting a few weeks ago,” Hanlon said. “I wouldn’t walk by myself at night.”

Hanlon said that the neighborhood violence is getting proper attention, and believes the community will only get safer with time.

“People are more aware,” she said. “This neighborhood will start to be more family-friendly…Eventually, it will start to grow and develop to be more.”

About this project 

The Scope’s student journalists spoke with community members in Mission Hill. #MissionHill100 is a collection of their stories.