- Target:
- Village of Deerfield Board of Trustees
- Region:
- United States of America
Local governments throughout the nation are grappling with how to handle Halloween. Cities from Chicago to Los Angeles have already indicated that Halloween guidelines will curtail traditional trick-or-treating. With so many changes for our community's children -- such as e-learning, reduced socialization, inability to visit with vulnerable friends and family, cancelled sports, and more -- Halloween is an escape and an opportunity to add some normalcy and joy to what has been a serious and uncertain time, Deerfield's Mayor has stated that the village is not sanctioning Halloween and instead is encouraging residents to engage in alternative activities such as hiding candy within your own home. It's important to vocalize that a normal Halloween is of the highest priority for the community -- and important for the social-emotional welfare of our children.
Dear Mayor Rosenthal and Members of the Deerfield Village Board:
We understand the Village has decided not to sanction Halloween this year. We, the undersigned residents of Deerfield, urge you to reverse course and help facilitate a traditional Halloween, and impose no rules against trick-or-treating..
With so many changes for our community's children -- such as e-learning, reduced socialization, inability to visit with vulnerable friends and family, cancelled sports, and more --now, more than ever, Deerfield's children need an escape and an opportunity to add some normalcy and joy to what has been a serious and uncertain time,
Traditional outdoor trick-or-treating is a relatively low-risk activity, and can be made even safer with very minimal modifications, including gently tossing candy to children, leaving candy bowls outside, and providing homeowners with signage indicating they are not participating in Halloween this year.
We appreciate the difficulties and challenges the village is facing in the course of this pandemic, and the desire to keep residents safe, but the benefits of a traditional Halloween outweigh the risks and should go on as normal.
Thank you.
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The Save Halloween - Deerfield, Illinois petition to Village of Deerfield Board of Trustees was written by Howard Handler and is in the category Youth at GoPetition.