Every year, Chuck commits to traveling to all62 counties in New York to meet with constituents.
Standing at Liberty Resources in Syracuse on July 22, 2019, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer launched a three-pronged plan to address the severe uptick of suicide deaths across Central New York and the United States. Schumer explained that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the suicide rate has spiked by 33% in the last 20 years, reaching its highest level since World War II. Schumer said that Syracuse and Central New York have been devastated by the prevalence of suicide in the region, with multiple high-profile stories in Onondaga County in recent months and the county having a suicide rate of 10.3 deaths per 100,000 people, above the New York State average of 8.1 per 100,000 people. Schumer cited the alarming statistics on suicide as he made the case for a new federal focus and ramp-up of suicide prevention dollars for crucial federal programs like the “Zero Suicide” initiative, which has had success locally, and for the passage of legislation that would increase the amount of trained mental health primary care doctors in areas like Central New York.
“Recent tragedies in Syracuse and the above-average rate of suicide in Onondaga County cry out for more effective action at all levels of government to respond to this troubling trend. It is clear that suicide has become a mental health crisis we can’t afford to ignore, requiring an all-hands-on-deck approach to solve,” said Senator Schumer. “That’s why I’m launching a three-pronged plan to reduce the nation’s suicide rate, which is higher than it’s been since World War II, by boosting federal money for localities to offer new treatment and services to those at risk; increasing the number of trained mental health primary care physicians in areas like Onondaga County; and expanding federal resources that protect our youth, the most vulnerable among us. We must ramp up suicide prevention efforts across the board and extend the hand of the federal government to the communities, caregivers and families coping with such a painful problem.”