Many problems arise when living in communities surrounded by people, animals, and the environment. As you grow within these communities you learn to adapt to these so you might not see these crucial situations affecting the environment you live in. Communities all over the world struggle with finding ways to control or solve these issues, but sometimes things can get difficult. Me, a sixteen year old, can only do so much to help with these complications that arise and exist around me, but if i were mayor I would change the living conditions in my communities starting with homelessness, then robbery, and lastly gangs.

If i were mayor i would start by fixing the problem of homelessness. Homelessness has been an issue for many years now. In my community there are a lot of homeless people. Most of them are grown men and women, but there is one specific couple that i have paid more attention to. They are of about the age of 22 and they have a 3 month year old daughter. The guy tends to wander around my apartment complex waiting for someone to open up our alley or front gate so he can trespass and ask for food. As the guy does this, the girl is usually breastfeeding her daughter. I know that this couple has the potential to make a good family and live in a real house or apartment if they just set their mind to it and not only think about them but the child they have that has her whole future ahead of her. This is something that I see on a regular basis and i would like to change but i can only watch from afar and hope, so I were mayor I would provide shelters for families to give them hope of starting a new life and a roof to live under. I would also look at the root causes of homelessness and try to fix them. One of the main causes is that a lot of people can’t afford a place to live. They don’t have enough money to pay rent, even for the cheapest dives available. Due to this, I would create more jobs, redistribute wealth, improve education, and strive for better health care. This would then result in redesigning our political and economic systems to make sure everybody can afford a roof over their heads based on taking small steps.

Robbery is very well known not only in my community, but all over the world. Around my community there is a lot of robberies. In my neighborhood in particular there is a robbery about once or twice every two weeks. This has been going on for a long time now and it's been affecting the people of my area. In my apartments we have a gated parking garage that is supposed to remain closed for safety purposes. When this gate is opened over night we usually end up with missing items from our storage units above our parking spaces. Nothing valuable has been taken away from my family or others, but we have lost a few things. Due to this situation, if i were mayor i would talk to other mayors for ideas. This is a harder problem because there isn't a set solution for this, but i would get information and back up ideas from mayors of other communities. I would also set someone up to protect potential victims at specific places and times. To help out with this i would make awareness campaigns that may reduce the risk of victimisation. If done correctly, these campaigns can send a reassurance message. It would also help by setting up some security cameras to at least help to determine who some of the robbers are. Having a neighborhood watch program can unite the members of the community into going against the robbers and doing something about this situation.

Gangs have been known since the late 19th century and early 20th century. Where i live there is a gang that likes to hang out by where the previous couple i mentioned hang out at. They meet up at around five in the afternoon and stay around the area until i would say two in the morning would be the latest i've seen them. It's always odd seeing them because if you wear provocative clothing they will catcall you until you at least do something to acknowledge their presence. It disgust me the way they do this because they treat us women and teenage girls like we are some type of dogs. This gang has been around for awhile now so i got use to this, but it still doesn't make the situation appropriate. This gang is also related to the robberies that occur every once in awhile. What makes the robberies of these gangs difference is that they focus on stealing cans and other recyclable items to sell nearby. So far nobody has seen anything serious happen between the different gang members. If i were to put myself in the position of being mayor i would have a safe partnership with my communities police station to help control gangs. For this to work, the police and i would work together to suppress gang activity by gathering information through community contacts. Also, police and local agencies must work together to support youth and promote nonviolent activities in the neighborhood. The strategy must involve parents in prevention activities and support parents and other residents concerned with gangs and the power they have.

Being a mayor is only a dream now, but as you grow you have more of a potential to achieve this position. All in all , I'd like to do these things as mayor because I would hopefully make a difference on the city and the people living in it. One of the things I would do is install a good security system. Secondly, i would try to make new jobs to decrease homelessness. Lastly, i would establish and maintain a connection with local police to help with gangs. I feel that it is important to show everybody in the city that they can walk the streets without having to be afraid and reassuring them that their community is one of the safest.