Kids With Mental Disorders Surge as Pandemic Topples Support Systems

Stabilizing social connections and support systems have disappeared, leaving parents and children in crisis

Therapy and support services for children have become a memory for many parents during the pandemic. Photographee.eu/Shutterstock

A bag of Doritos, that’s all Princess wanted.

Her mom calls her Princess, but her real name is Lindsey. She’s 17 and lives with her mom, Sandra, a nurse, near Atlanta. On May 17, 2020, Lindsey decided she didn’t want breakfast; she wanted Doritos. So she left home and walked to the Family Dollar store, taking her pants off along the way, while her mom followed on foot, talking to the police on her phone as they went.