Life in the south side today: how can the issues be fixed?
"Chiago's ghettos in the 1960s were notorious for their shootings, robberies, rapes, fires, joblessness, single-parents families, dreadful schools and high dropout rates, rampant alcoholism and heroin addiction, abandoned buildings and vacant lots" (Bogira).
Unfortunately, not a lot has changed since the 1960's. Today's issues that plague the South Side are still just as rampant as they were decades ago. It all seems to be a cycle: kids are born into broken homes hindered by unemployment or substance abuse. They are exposed to and grow up around violence and crime. Rarely are they able to get away from that environment being that their schools are riddled with violence, making schools another member on the list of unsafe places for children.
"We have children who have been killed. We have children who have been shot on the street in front of school" (Isay, Jones, Newman, 39).
"It's hard to be poor; it;s much harder to be poor and surrounded by poverty and all the harmful cultural norms and behavior, such as crime, that accompany it" (Bogira).
Reform needs to start at the heart of the issue: racism and segregation. Barriers need to be broken down to ensure better employment for those living in the South Side. Better and safer schools need to be operating to give kids a safe place to be and be exposed to healthy habits and lifestyles. It all needs to begin at the roots.
Unfortunately, not a lot has changed since the 1960's. Today's issues that plague the South Side are still just as rampant as they were decades ago. It all seems to be a cycle: kids are born into broken homes hindered by unemployment or substance abuse. They are exposed to and grow up around violence and crime. Rarely are they able to get away from that environment being that their schools are riddled with violence, making schools another member on the list of unsafe places for children.
"We have children who have been killed. We have children who have been shot on the street in front of school" (Isay, Jones, Newman, 39).
"It's hard to be poor; it;s much harder to be poor and surrounded by poverty and all the harmful cultural norms and behavior, such as crime, that accompany it" (Bogira).
Reform needs to start at the heart of the issue: racism and segregation. Barriers need to be broken down to ensure better employment for those living in the South Side. Better and safer schools need to be operating to give kids a safe place to be and be exposed to healthy habits and lifestyles. It all needs to begin at the roots.