SAGINAW, MI — About five years ago, Beau and Teagan Carnes made a big decision. They moved from Midland to one of Saginaw's toughest neighborhoods.

Their home on Walnut Street at 13th is near where an 18-year-old man was shot and killed in 1990. The same intersection was pivotal in a turf war between two local gangs, the Clicks and the Crazy 8s, in the mid-1980s.

The neighborhood has changed since those days and is quieter, though Beau and Teagan Carnes say the sound of gunshots still sometimes punctuates evenings at home.

Still, the married couple doesn't regret buying a home in Saginaw's Houghton-Jones neighborhood on Saginaw's East Side.

"We love our house," Teagan said.

"We do really like living here," Beau said.

The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County Land Bank hope to demolish 950 vacant, blighted homes across the city as part of an $11.2 million federal grant effort. Of 413 county-owned properties already slated for demolition, seven are within a one-block radius of the Carneses' home.

But the Carneses have no plans to leave yet another empty house in the neighborhood. They say they are in it for the long haul.

Moving in with "a sense of mission"

Teagan Carnes explained that the decision to move to Saginaw was one that neither of them want to allow themselves to back out of too easily.

"We wanted to commit, kind of like a marriage," she said. "We didn't want to just leave when the going got tough. We wanted to be here and do some good here, along with the other good things already going on."

One thing has not changed since the Carnes family moved in. In many ways, the couple is still in the statistical minority in their neighborhood.

The area in which they live, according to U.S. Census data, is nearly 88 percent black, the average household income is $34,000 and nearly 40 percent of the residents report they are unemployed. N

early half the families in the Carneses' census tract have a household income below the federal poverty line.

A calling brought them to the Houghton-Jones neighborhood, Beau said.

"We did specifically move here because we wanted to make a difference here in Saginaw," he said. "We did have a sense of mission in moving here."

He said that, at the simplest level, he and Teagan want to be part of a move toward reinvesting and believing in a place that has been abandoned by so many.

"It's not going to get any better if everyone moves out," Beau Carnes said.

Sister Lois Ann Sheaffer, president of the Houghton-Jones Neighborhood Association, has lived in the neighborhood on Ninth Street for 20 years, and for 40 years on Saginaw's East Side.

Sheaffer said she is glad to have people like the Carneses willing to invest so much of themselves in making the neighborhood a great place to live.

"I think it's excellent," she said. "I think that's what makes a neighborhood good. Not just people that come in and do good things, but people who move in and model it."

The couple has been active in neighborhood meetings, the neighborhood watch and volunteer efforts and other activities.

Building up a neighborhood

Teagan said she doesn't like the word "missionary" when describing what she and Beau are doing. She explains their intent is to be a part of something positive in the neighborhood, to join hands with those already doing good in the community.

"I certainly want restoration for Saginaw and our neighborhood, and I certainly want people to see God's heart for them and for the neighborhood," she said.

Sheaffer said the Carneses are unique in the neighborhood, as relatively new homeowners who plan to stay long-term.

But Sheaffer said she hopes the Carneses and others can build a neighborhood that will draw other new residents willing to invest in the community.

"We haven't just reacted," she said. "We have tried to be proactive. We try do do things with the neighborhood, particularly with the young people who are forming their lives."

The Carneses came to the region when Beau landed a job at a video production company in Midland, where they initially settled.

They first heard about the Saginaw neighborhood when Bakari M. McClendon, president of the Houghton-Jones Neighborhood Association, came to their church in Midland to speak about the association's activities.

"That's kind of how we first got involved in the neighborhood," Beau said. "And we've continued to be involved."

In October 2008, the couple closed on their 100-year-old three-bedroom house on Walnut, which the couple admits was a deal at $25,500. Though the old house comes with its quirks and imperfections, Beau and Teagan said they love both their home and their neighborhood.

Beau has changed careers, today working in special education at the International Academy of Saginaw, a charter school on Iowa in Bridgeport Township.

"I wanted a job where I was interacting with people more," he said. "I worked as a substitute teacher for a couple years before, just for a job. And as I was substitute teaching, it had me thinking about becoming a teacher."

Long-term homeowners and short-term renters

Not long after the couple moved in to their home on Walnut, they experienced a break-in.

"We think we knew who it was," Beau said. "We had relationships with them."

He described how someone they knew from the neighborhood asked about their plans on the day it happened, just before they left home.

"Definitely if we weren't being as friendly, they probably wouldn't have known where we were," Beau said. "They don't live there anymore."

There is a churn of people in the neighborhood, the couple explained, with tenants moving into and out of the properties around them.

"Since we've lived here, every single house on our block has changed occupancy at least one time," Teagan said.

Sheaffer said she has noticed less "slum landlords" in recent years and more open space as houses are demolished.

"There's a lot of older homeowners that are left," she said. "Some renters too, but not as many."

Beau pointed out that there are some people scattered throughout the neighborhood who, like them, are there for the long term.

"It's either people that have lived here for 40 or 50 years, or it's just people moving all the time," Beau said. "There's not really any in-between."

Violence turns from consistent to "sporadic"

The violence in Saginaw's East Side neighborhoods is not like the gang conflicts of the 1980s, though in 2013 there were five homicides within a one-mile radius of the Carneses' home.

The city saw a total of 27 homicides last year, though Gov. Rick Snyder during his State of the State address in Jan. 16 indicated violent crime overall was down significantly in the first 10 months of 2013. Seventy percent of the year's homicides took place in the first six months of the year.

Despite the fact that Saginaw has consistently registered one of the highest, per capita, violent crime rates in the nation, living in the city isn't as dangerous as many people think, Beau said.

"A few times we heard gunshots near the house, and that's kind of scary," he said. "But it

's not as bad in the neighborhood as people from outside the neighborhood think. It's very rarely that a random person gets shot. We haven't really been scared to live here; most of the people who live here are very friendly."

Sheaffer admitted there is still some violence that takes place nearby, but said the neighborhood has come a long way.

"We have sporadic things, but not the consistent things we used to have," she said. "That's because we have, block by block, worked on it. We've worked very hard to manage that and eliminate some of the people who were the problem, to build a safer neighborhood."

Beau said that despite Saginaw's high per capita violent crime rates in recent years, he believes the criminals are "still a very small percentage" of the overall population.

Raising a family in Houghton-Jones

The biggest change in the Carneses' life since they made the decision to move to Saginaw is the birth of their son, Corwin, now nearly 19 months old.

Like any new parents, Beau and Teagan said they worry about Corwin's general well-being. But the neighborhood, they said, is not a threat to that, and they don't plan to move.

"I care about him and want to make sure he's safe," Teagan said. "I don't think he's unsafe. I can imagine being more worried when, every once and a while, we hear gunshots. But it doesn't change how I feel about being here. Ultimately, I don't feel I have control over what happens anywhere."

The couple explained that their faith plays a major role in their life. It is woven into everyday decisions and bigger choices, like the one to come live in Saginaw.

"One of the reasons we don't feel unsafe is because we believe in something bigger than us," Teagan said.

Neighbors helping neighbors

She hopes the passion and devotion of a few — like Catholic nun and neighborhood booster Sister Lois Sheaffer and neighborhood leader Christina Jones — catches hold and spreads throughout the community.

Teagan said neighbors have done little things for them like shoveling their driveway and sidewalk and gathering money together for a birthday gift.

"People don't think about people being nice and doing sweet things in this neighborhood," she said. "But a lot of people do nice things."

The Carnes family has returned the favor, hosting summer movie nights where they project a screen onto the side of their house and, in general, opening hearts and home to the neighbors.

They keep a "treasure chest" filled with small toys and treats for neighborhood kids stopping by to visit. Each time, they get to pick out one item from the chest.

One young man who lived in the Houghton-Jones neighborhood with his family became close with the Carnes family. When his family became temporarily homeless, Beau

said the young man moved into their home, living there "on and off" during the summer of 2013.

A changing community

He said one thing has begun to weigh on him during the five years since he moved here: the sense of hopelessness.

"In Saginaw, I think, there is a lot of hopelessness," Beau said. "I used to pass empty buildings and imagine good things there. Now it's harder to imagine good things in Saginaw. There are definitely some things happening in Saginaw and I'm grateful."

He said he sees the elimination of blighted homes from Saginaw's neighborhoods as a step in the right direction.

"It looks nicer just because there are a lot fewer burned-out homes," Beau said. "In the space of a block or two from our house in either direction there are probably half a dozen less houses than there used to be."

Though a neighborhood full of empty lots is not ideal, he said it still looks better than a series of dilapidated, empty houses.

Sheaffer said Houghton-Jones, known as one of the city's most active neighborhood associations, said the micro-community is unique because neighbors look out for one another.

"We know each other in our neighborhoods," she said. "Our block is not the same as their block, but we have block parties. If someone has a death in the family, we'd all furnish food. Those are some of the things that are not always common in neighborhoods."

On the whole, the couple said their experience living in Saginaw has been a positive one.

"We're definitely happy with the decision," Beau said. "I imagine living here the rest of our lives."

Mark Tower covers local government for MLive/The Saginaw News. Contact him at 989-284-4807, by email at mtower@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.