A new association is calling on families in the Sunset Heights community to help make their neighborhood a better place to live.

The East Sunset Heights Association formed in March after three households banded together to brainstorm ways to clean up the crime and the trash that threatened their safety and property values.

Early efforts are beginning to pay off, said founding member Holly Hughes. Membership has grown from a handful of residents to 79, she said.

"We walked around passing out fliers to people to let them know we were forming and the response we got was phenomenal," Hughes said.

There are approximately 400 homes in East Sunset Heights, located just north of the Houston Heights and loosely bound by North Main, 610 Loop, Airline Drive and 23rd Street.

"I've lived here on and off since 1983," Hughes said. "It's a good area with good people living in it, but no neighborhood is going to be any good for long unless the people who live there make it that way. We decided we needed a neighborhood association that would address our specific needs."

Other founding members include Buster and Sharon Pendley, who had already established a neighborhood watch program, and Chuck Shoults and Juan Arroyo whose experience with a previous civic association has proven invaluable to East Sunset Heights, Hughes said.

"We could not have come as far as we have without these folks," she said. "Their dedication has been tremendous."

Since that first meeting in March, the association has formally adopted bylaws, established committees and elected a five-person council, Hughes said.

Council members are Hughes, Dorothy Hester, Kevin Cabrol, Jeromy Murphy, and Judie Kahn. Council members serve two years.

"Twenty-five people attended our first meeting," Hughes said. "Now it's grown so much that we've moved the meetings to a nearby church. We've also selected people to serve on our publications committee, neighborhood watch committee, yard of the month committee, and speaker's committee," she said.

"We've already approached the city for help on a variety of issues including illegal trash dumping, abandoned houses, unkempt yards and prostitution along Airline Drive," Hughes said. "The Houston Police Department has been very helpful in discouraging prostitution and has been so successful that this is not really a big problem anymore. They know if they come around here, they're going to be arrested."

The association's primary short-term goal is to encourage compliance with heavy trash pickup rules, Hughes said. "I think the problem is that people just don't know when they're supposed to put out their heavy trash," she said. "It's really not about ticketing people but educating them so the neighborhood doesn't look trashy all the time. I can't imagine anyone wants that."

A junk-filled lot on North Main has also been cleared as a result of the association's efforts, Hughes said.

The association also wants to make sure property owners keep yards and empty lots clean and mowed, she said.

"I think that as time goes on and more people hear about us we will continue to grow," Hughes said. "We want this to be a nice place to live and it can be if everyone will get involved just a little."

Membership dues are $20 annually per household and $15 for seniors, Hughes said. The association meets at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of every month at St. Anne de Beaupre Catholic Church, 2810 Link Road.

For information, call 713-868-6993.