America has an urgent youth mental health crisis. In 2019, more than one in three high school students said they experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and one-in-five students seriously considered suicide. Recently, emergency rooms saw a significant uptick in the proportion of emergency room visits for mental health reasons in young people. This crisis isn’t new, but the pandemic has made it worse.

Youth who are anxious, depressed, and worse are struggling and their mental health problems are overwhelming parents and educators alike. But we can do something about it.