In 2024, Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed legislation that would have created a Rural Suicide Prevention Council to address increasing rates of suicide in rural counties.

The reason for the veto, you may ask? Money and concerns about duplication. Those were unconvincing reasons in 2024. If the reintroduced legislation passes the state Legislature during this session, Hochul should correct her mistake and sign the legislation into law.

All one needs to do is look at the increased rates of rural suicide to see that existing state efforts wouldn’t be duplicative since they rarely make much of a dent in rural areas under the current system. According to the 2026 Chautauqua Opportunities Inc. Community Needs Assessment, the age-adjusted rate of hospitalization for self-inflicted wounds is 8.5 per 10,000 people in the county compared to 5.6 per 10,000 statewide. The hospitalization rate for self-inflicted injuries is even greater for those aged 15-19 in the county, with that rate being 24.4 per 10,000 in comparison to the statewide rate of 13.7 per 10,000. Finally, the assessment stated that the mortality rate for suicides in the county is 12.9 per 100,000 individuals, compared to 9.7 per 100,000 for the state.

The assessment found the county not only has a higher rate of suicides and attempts, but also a higher rate of mental and behavioral health problems as a whole.

“Rural Americans, including those here in New York State, are nearly 50 percent more likely to die by suicide than residents living in more urban areas. What is even more shocking is that young people growing up in rural areas like Chautauqua County are 74 percent more likely to die by suicide than their urban peers,” Jeff Winton of Mayville and founder of Rural Minds, a nonprofit dedicated to improving mental health in rural areas, told The Post-Journal.

Chautauqua County’s story repeats itself around the state. Too many residents of rural counties are struggling with mental health, and too often those struggles are leading people to attempt suicide. The statistics in rural counties refute the idea that a Rural Suicide Prevention Council would duplicate existing efforts. At most, it could amplify the existing efforts that might have an effect in the state’s bigger cities but aren’t being heard in rural regions.

As for cost, we have a hard time believing funding for a Rural Suicide Prevention Council can’t be found in a budget of $260 billion. Budgets are a statement of values. Hochul’s 2024 veto was a statement that rural mental health issues weren’t as important as other issues the state is dealing with. If given the same choice in 2026, we hope rural New Yorkers’ mental health wins out.