Chapter 11 The Youth of Ocean City, Indiana

We live in Ocean City, Indiana. It is a small city that has seen a lot of its industries move out. The people who live here now are retired, older adults, farmers and their families.

An overseas corporation has seen the promise of Ocean City. It has a hub location meaning that at least six big cities are 1-3 hours drive away making it a good place for manufacturing that can be shipped easily to the other cities. The infrastructure that was created by the older industries (steel and automotive) still exists and is easily accessed. The corporation has given incentives to 2,000 of its workers and their families to move to the United States and Ocean City for five years to begin its work there. It is likely that the city will see an influx of at least 300 children between the ages of 10-18 when the workers come here.

To reiterate, Ocean City has a large population of older adults and not as many young people. The city is not set up for young people as there are not a lot of social opportunities, malls, movie theaters, ball parks, and other things you think appeal to younger people. Truth be told, the current young residents are equally bereft of social opportunities. The only real ballpark is one that hosts travel ball leagues. That is an issue. Those kind of ball parks are only accessible by young people whose families have the financial resources to enroll them in those expensive leagues. There is a saying “every teenager needs a gang”. For some that is a sports team. For others, it might be church groups. Some teenagers might seek out the kind of gang that is constantly in trouble. Unfortunately, that is what has happened for a lot of teenagers in Ocean City. Many of these teenagers, even those who are from prominent families and outwardly appear to be on the “right path”, are smoking cigarettes, marijuana, and are vaping. They are bypassing the age restrictions on smoking and vaping by buying things illegally. Marijuana is not legal in Indiana, they are also buying and selling it.

Poor and illegal behaviors are just one part of the issue. The young people in the community are experiencing what many young people face today. Mental health issues in the form of anxiety and depression. Suicide rates are on the rise. Now Ocean City is getting an influx of teenagers. We would like to do things right for those young people and do better for the kids that already live here.

Ocean City also has a rich culture that has never been leveraged to its fullest for teenagers. Just like the ballparks, only a select few access the opportunities that exist as they cannot get to the events as their parents work different shifts or they are just unaware of them. There are children’s theaters, a community band that is open to all, and a nature center for the teenagers that like that sort of thing. The town is 10 miles from a state park that has hiking trails, a lake with a beach, and a snack bar. There is a lot to do but these things are generally free and rarely used.