I run Valvoline and work with young people every day. They're in crisis—and we all have to try to help

lori (Credit: courtesy of Valvoline)

I spend my days working alongside young people. At Valvoline Instant Oil Change, many of our technicians are in their first real job—fresh out of high school, figuring out who they are and what they’re capable of. What I see every day tells me something the statistics confirm: this generation is in crisis, and it didn’t happen overnight.

After a more than 60% increase in youth suicide rates from 2007 to their peak in 2021, the latest CDC data shows a hopeful shift with suicide rates among 10‑ to 24‑year‑olds declining in 2022, 2023, and again in 2024. But even with this progress, rates remain far higher than they were a generation ago, and young people continue to report unprecedented levels of anxiety, loneliness, and financial stress.