Just think about the major things that have happened in the lives of young people in the past few months: 1) an abrupt closing of schools; the major center of the educational and social lives of students; 2) being forced to “shelter in place”, indefinitely, cutoff from friends and extended family; 3) most likely, experiencing the illness or death of a loved one from the virus; 4) hearing about some strange symptom of COVID-19 that only happens to children; 6) the most recent murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Rayshard Brooks; 7) the protests and violence; 8) getting “the talk” from adults who have a never-seen fear and sense of urgency in their eyes; 9) in addition to schools, playgrounds, pools, and camps are closed; 10) being cut off from a consistent source of breakfast and lunch and; 11) being petrified with the thought of having to go back in a school building.

As you can see, the point is that we have undeniably, and unfairly, ignored the well-being and mental health of our children and young people, while we are all going in circles trying to figure out our own lives.

The Washington Post in a May 29th Opinion column, “A 2019 study in the Lancet found that when police kill an unarmed Black person, other Black people in that state suffer tangible harm to their collective mental health.

Trauma sticks in the body, and contributes to dysregulated emotions, troubled behavior, relational problems, and physical illness, making it difficult for traumatized young people to thrive.

Living in Black and poor neighborhoods increases one’s risk of experiencing traumatic events like community violence, police incidents, and domestic violence, and it increases the risk of experiencing secondary traumas in witnessing these dangers.