The Mental Health Crisis of Our Youth

Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old in Uvalde Texas, entered Robb Elementary school on May 24, 2022 and opened fire killing at least 19 children – children averaging 10 years of age and two teachers. Large scale acts of violence, similar to the Uvalde incident, perpetrated by youth suffering from mental health issues such as Ramos have been occurring more frequently. In fact, the mental health of teenagers in general has been deteriorating in recent decades—a phenomena that has only accelerated with the recent pandemic. What’s happening to our children? And what can we do to help?