Office of the Mayor
121 N LaSalle Street Chicago
City Hall 4th Floor
Chicago, IL 60602
Dear Mayor Emanuel,

Early exposure to drugs is a rising issue for young children in Chicago neighborhoods. I myself have witnessed more and more teens using drugs out in public and this is due to the wide access teenagers have throughout their neighborhoods, schools, and parks. There is little we can do to stop this wide access because the drugs are always going to be there. As a rising senior in high school, I have noticed that children are being exposed to drugs at a much younger age; seeing a group of children no older than 12 or 13 using drugs is what convicted me to write this letter right now.  Any person with a heart would wonder what our city has come to and not just simply look the other way of this problem. I believe our city has to adopt a new way of thinking; every resident should start viewing these children as their own?  We must ask ourselves what if those children I mentioned were ours? Would you still go on with your life ignoring this issue? Of course not. Having everyone thinking this way will produce nothing but progress because what wouldn’t we do for the betterment of our children’s lives?

This earlier exposure to drugs is obviously leading to earlier drug use, and the children who are using these drugs at an earlier age are hindering a critical learning process in their lives. This is supposed to be a time when a child develops the fundamentals of learning, which he or she puts to use in high school and college and even later on in life. This problem should be a growing concern for all because these kids are the leaders of the coming generation.

The best action certain caring individuals can take is to provide a better and more rewarding outlet for these teenagers. Getting rid of the whole attitude of how serving your community is “lame” or pointless could be a great step towards progress. You may ask how does one take this step? Putting forth the knowledge to teenagers of how there is a constant need of help in our community is crucial for convincing them of the other uses of time to be taken advantage of, whether it’s helping the needy, environment, or stopping gang violence. Being aware of the struggles going on in our city will build the desire to make a change.

Thank you for your time and I hope you take these points into consideration.