Amanda L. Lynch

T he statistics are telling: The pandemic triggered a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression. Even before the pandemic, many young people in our community were struggling with mental health, grief and loss, and the devastating impact of community violence. A 2021 survey found that more than one-third of Virginia's youth did not have an adult to talk to about their problems. Research tells us that caring adults make a profound difference in children's emotional well-being.

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to our top stories Almost finished... To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.

“I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us.” — Frederick Douglass,“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” July 5, 1852 Independence Day felt heavy and conflicted this year. As the daughter and stepdaughter of Vietnam War veterans and granddaughter of World War II veterans, I’ve always felt a sense of civic responsibility to my country.