Tim Barrus New York Times
Instability can kill. So inconvenient. I mentor boys at-risk. They are easily suicidal. Jumping into the abyss is with a shrug.
Way before COVID. All the usual suspects. School failure, HIV, every other STD, suicide attempts times ten, sex work, addiction, sex addiction, rage management, homelessness, grand theft auto, shoplifting, stalking, selective muteness, hacking, the list is literally endless. What works in their favor is that you can work on more than one issue at a time.
Public health is a nightmare. When they see armed cops at the door taking names, they freak, and they run.
Detention is code for rape. Whenever detention becomes a serious possibility, they commonly decide that death is better than rape. They know how to hang themselves in detention, too.
They make life and death decisions every day. Sometimes every minute.
It’s not about losing weight. It’s not about pouting that they want things to go back to where they were. It’s not about graduation. It’s not about missing anyone. It’s not about sports. These things belong to another class entitely.
There is a thread. I have seen it over and over again.
That thread is sexual abuse as young children. This is a gamechanger. The grief alone. Losing your job is bad. Losing your childhood is bad, too. This is where neurology becomes a vital concern. Actual organic brain damage.
They believe they are worthless. Masks are nothing. Distancing is nothing. I would challenge any adult to face what they have endured.