New York veterans are facing a serious mental health crisis, and we need new solutions. According to the latest data from the NY Health Foundation, veterans in our state die by suicide more than twice as often as the general public. And those troubling figures are trending in the wrong direction. Veteran suicide in New York rose to 24.9 per 100,000 in 2023, an increase from 19.8 the year prior — reaching the highest rate in over 20 years. Clearly, American heroes carry invisible wounds that need care, and many don’t get that help soon enough.

Albany should be preparing now so that when these new mental health treatments become legally available, New York veterans can get access without another round of delay. That means modernizing our regulatory approval process for controlled substances — something leaders like Senate Veterans Committee Chair Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-Staten Island) have already recognized as a priority.