Last week, numerous news outlets covered the U.S. Surgeon General's report on the current dangers to our children's mental health. As stated in the Washington Post's article, “Suicide already was the second leading cause of death for children. We had already seen pretty high levels of substance use, depression and violent behavior. But the pandemic has been a perfect storm of a stressor, which we know leads to really notable increases in psychological symptoms among kids.” If our children are in pain and they don't get help, they may look for ways to numb their pain via suicide, self-harming, or self-medicating. The link to the article is available in the Parish newsletter and on St. Mary's FaceBook page.