Talk to most young people today, and they will express that times are hard. Youth are dealing with mental health issues, financial pressures, inequities, and other difficult societal conditions.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routine patterns and systems designed to support young people—most notably, schools—leaving students and parents to develop new ways of learning and coping. During the pandemic, emphasis changed from preventing violence in schools to reducing illness transmission and building infrastructure for online teaching. Counseling options were in high demand, with insufficient resources to fill the gap. Students needed adult mentorship more than ever.

Proactive police departments have long played an important role in providing youth support in their communities. Unfortunately, the pandemic coincided with another tragedy that rocked the policing profession, as well as challenging the public’s faith in officers as role models: the murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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