I'm with Sky, don't watch the news. The news has changed over the years imo from a source of information to a shock fest.

Sometimes I catch it, like the other day when they were talking about the states not having enough money to pay their employees and pay the tax returns. This was very alarming.

But as the others have said, be aware of your surroundings. Do what you can to be safe and the rest is beyond your control. Things like carrying your purse clutched to your chest and having your keys in your hands (big key between pointer and middle finger) make you less of a target. Shop during daylight hours whenever possible. You want to go when the store has other customers but is not so busy that something will happen and no one will notice.

Worrying about things don't change them at all. Whatever will be will be.

Kathy I am sorry that your situation is so dire. Is it possible to move somewhere that these things are not an issue? I grew up in a tiny town and couldn't wait to get out and see the world. We didn't lock our doors, keys were left in the cars etc. Once I had children though, my priorities changed.

We were living in what the rest of the country would concider a small town, but much larger than the one I grew up in, on the WA/OR border. Gangs from Cali were coming up and the local police were not equipt to dealing with this type of crime. There was a drive by shooting less than a block from my house where a toddler playing on the school play ground was hit. That was the straw that broke the camel's back and I packed my kids up and moved back to the place I knew my kids would be safe. Our income potential suffered greatly, but my kids were able to play outside safely without having someone literally stand guard.

We live in a place where we don't have to lock our doors, I don't even know where the keys to the doors are. We don't leave our keys in the car anymore, not for fear of theft, but because our kids and their friends are at an age that might be too much of a temptation for them.