New York State has third lowest suicide rate in the US after New Jersey and Massachussetts.

 Based on recent data, the suicide rate in the United States is significantly higher than the homicide rate.

• Suicide Rate: In 2022, the age-adjusted suicide rate was 14.2 per 100,000 people.

• Homicide Rate: In 2023, the homicide rate was 5.9 per 100,000 people. Other data for 2023 shows a rate of 6.8 per 100,000 people.

In terms of total deaths, there are nearly two times as many suicides as homicides in the U.S. For example, in 2022, there were over 49,400 suicides compared to around 24,800 homicides.

In my career as a Psychiatric Social Worker I have done over 15,000 suicide evaluations most of them as a Psychiatric Assignment Officer in urban hospital emergency rooms.

Suicide rates vary greatly by region and other demographic characteristics. Men kill themselves three times more often than women but women attempt suicide three times more often than men. The reason for the discrepancy between suicide death rates is due to the means of the attempt. Men most often use guns while women use ODs and cutting.

New York State consistently has one of the lowest suicide rates in the United States. While the specific ranking can vary slightly depending on the year and the source of the data, New York is typically in the bottom three alongside states like New Jersey and Massachusetts.

For example, according to data from 2021, New York's suicide rate was 7.9 per 100,000 people, placing it among the lowest rates in the country. This is in stark contrast to states with the highest rates, such as Wyoming, Montana, and Alaska, which often have rates three to four times higher.

Suicide rates seem more influenced by the availability of social infrastructure than any other factor. When people are desperate do they have a place to turn? Is there help for what is distressing them so much that they would rather end their lives than go on living. New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts have much better health and human services than other states.

New York, Virginia become first to require mental health education in schools

From CNN on 07/02/18:

On Sunday, New York and Virginia became the first two states to enact laws requiring mental health education in schools.

New York's law updates the health curriculum in elementary, middle and high schools to include material on mental health. Virginia's law mandates that mental health education be incorporated into physical education and health curricula for ninth- and 10th-graders.

For more click here.

To see the New York State laws enacted click here.

Editor's note:

It's hard to believe that it took until 2018, for New York and Virigina to become the first two states in the United States to require mental health education as part of the health education curriculum. 

Every time there's a mass shooting in the U.S, the politicans, funded by the NRA, state that these mass shootings are a mental health issue not a gun issue. However, these same politicians have not taken steps to see to it that the issue is addressed except in New York and Virginia.