Heart of the West Side Neighborhood Association

Hey there!  So my husband and I just purchased our first home (yay) and while we did check out the area and all that and get a feel for the neighborhood we definitely did not go in super detective mode and really investigate and now I am kind of freaking out thinking I am about to become a statistic lol.  There are a few uh.. down on their luck people literally living on someones lot or an empty lot diagonally from us.  While they seem nice, I am still leary.  I have managed to talk to two different neighbors now and while both have said make sure to keep things locked up and confirmed that neither one of them have experienced anything bad, one is scared and wants to move and the other feels fine.  So I don't know.  Does anyone know anything about this area?  Would really appreciate any information I can get for peace of mind.  Thank you so much.  Sorry for being a spazz lol