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Advocates encourage Hochul to sign Rural Suicide Prevention Council Bill

Legislation creating a Rural Suicide Prevention Council is again awaiting a veto or approval from Gov. Kathy Hochul – and advocates are pushing the governor to sign the bill.

The bill has been largely the work of and supported by Joe Tobia, a Steuben County legislator and mental health advocate who lost his son to suicide in 2021.

A similar bill was vetoed by Governor Hochul in 2024, but bi-partisan legislation to establish the Rural Suicide Prevention Council has passed in the state Assembly in bill A.8434 by a vote of 140 to 0. Companion legislation passed the state Senate unanimously as well. The Rural Suicide Prevention Council would identify barriers to mental health and substance use treatment and prevention services and other policies, practices, resources, services, and potential legislation that aim to reduce death by suicide and suicide attempts and acknowledge the demographic and cultural differences in rural communities.

"In 2024, the Governor surprisingly vetoed similar legislation, but this year she has the opportunity to rectify that action," Tobia said. "The suicide rate in rural New York is nearly double that of non-rural areas. Passing this bill will not only save lives but will lessen the number of individuals who have lost loved ones to suicide and have to live with the pain, sadness, grief, and guilt every day . . . and I assure you, it never goes away. My son, who died by suicide in 2021, asked me many times 'why won't anyone help me Dad?' and I never had an answer for him. It's now time we find answers to that question."

With the bill passing unanimously in both the Senate and Assembly, legislators, including state Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, and Assemblyman Andrew Molitor, R-Westfield, are also fully in support of the governor signing this bill.

"Rural communities across New York continue to face a silent but devastating crisis, and the data makes one thing unmistakably clear, we need a focused, statewide strategy to help prevent suicide in rural communities," Borrello said. "Establishing a Rural Suicide Prevention Council is more than sound public policy, it is a critical lifeline. The Legislature has already recognized the urgency of this issue with overwhelming bipartisan support. Now, it is time for Governor Hochul to do the same."

Additionally, Borrello said that rural families, farmers, veterans, first responders, and young people deserve more than acknowledgment, they deserve meaningful action, resources, and support.

"This legislation provides a practical, effective framework to strengthen coordination among service providers, identify critical gaps in care, and ensure rural voices are fully represented in New York’s suicide prevention efforts," Borrello said. "I strongly urge Governor Hochul to sign this legislation without delay. Rural New York cannot afford another year of inaction. I also encourage residents across the state to make their voices heard by contacting the Governor’s office and expressing their support for this important measure. It is time to deliver the leadership, resources, and hope that our rural communities so urgently need."

Molitor said he is also fully in support and proud to have voted in favor of the bill.

"It is well-documented that rural mental health and rural suicide rates are much higher than in urban areas," Molitor said. "With that background, I was proud to vote for this bill, which passed unanimously in both houses of the state Legislature. It merely establishes a working group to help get to the cause of this epidemic and propose meaningful solutions. While New York state spends more taxpayer dollars every year on some very wasteful ideas, Governor Hochul should not delay or prevent the passage of this good bill by claiming it is too costly. I encourage the Governor to quickly establish this council and help prevent suicide in rural communities like ours."

Jeff Winton, Rural Minds founder and chairman, has known and worked with Tobia through their work and their connection through losing a family member to suicide, noted that people who live in rural areas like Chautauqua County are 50% more likely to die by suicide, and young people ages 15 to 19 who live in rural areas are 74% more like to take their lives. Farmers are 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide than other professions.

"This bill is very important because it will specifically look at some of the unique challenges and obstacles we have in mental health care in rural areas," Winton said. "What many people don't remember is that New York is largely a rural state; obviously we have New York City, Syracuse, we have Buffalo, but by and large the bulk of New York is rural."

Winton said a much better job is needed to study the challenges people in both rural America and rural New York have and how to address them. Mental illness and suicide is a growing epidemic in rural America, he added, and the bill to create a Rural Suicide Prevention Council will lead to that council that will specifically look at what is being done right, wrong, and what is not being done at all to help try and reduce the growing incidents of suicide across the state, especially in rural areas.

"The reason is important is not only due to the fact that New York is basically a rural state besides a few areas, but the people who live in rural America, and hence the work we do through Rural Minds, are faced with a shortage of services; hospitals closing, lack of transportation, many things that get in the way of them getting the mental health services that they may need when they're suffering from this illness," Winton said. "So, by putting a sharp focus on these rural aspects, our belief is we can better prepare and assist those people who live in rural areas, including the bulk of Chautauqua County."

A similar bill that was put into law in Maryland in 2022, Winton said. The Mayville man said every state in the country has rural areas and people that are suffering from lack of services and other issues people can face in Rural America.

"By getting this passed in New York it will help us in this state and also be an example that potentially can be utilized in the other states where we do work," Winton said. "This bill is specific to New York and working with Joseph Tobia from Corning, we've been very impressed with his efforts that are being undertaken because of the loss of his son, Matthew, to suicide, and we're learning a lot by what he's done."

What Tobia has done, Winton said, is build bipartisan support on a unanimous basis across the aisle to get the bill passed in both 2024 and 2026, but the last hurdle for the bill is getting the governor's signature. Winton said New York is a state that desperately needs this advocacy and help for rural New Yorkers.

Winton, Tobia, Borrello and Molitor all are encouraging people to reach out to the governor's office to encourage her to sign the bill and allow the creation of the Rural Suicide Prevention Council. People can go to www.governor.ny.gov or call 518-474-8390, and urge her to pass signA.8434/S.3610.

"This council that is being proposed will investigate the suicide fatalities to find and eliminate the barriers that have been denied to individuals such as Matthew Tobia, to ensure that we don't lose other people to suicide that in many cases can be preventable if we provide those services that do exist," Winton said.

Other important resources that anyone can access include the 988 number which provides 24/7 help to those who need it. Rural Minds' website ruralminds.org, also provides resources and people can reach out to Rural Minds through there and see how they can help.

"We're very excited about the possibility of this bill passing, but we still have to achieve this one important milestone, and that's to get the governor of New York to support this," Winton said. "Governor Hochul has been supportive of mental health and suicide prevention across New York state, especially in more urban areas like New York City. We now need her support and her advocacy to help us address the millions of people that live in rural New York State."