The Baffler | Wikimedia Commons
In 2021, according to the most recent public health data, 1,660 New Yorkers died by suicide, and an estimated 41,500 New Yorkers attempted it. New Yorkers with serious mental illness (SMI) are receiving less treatment, according to a report released last year by the City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, with 48 percent reporting that they had not received medication or therapy in the prior year. That increases to 70 percent when you factor in those without insurance.