Many non-residents romanticize life in the Adirondacks – when someone just enters the park for a day or a weekend to hike, relax, or enjoy the scenery, it is difficult to imagine that living the there would be anything but a vacation-esque lifestyle. However, there is another side to the story; behind the beautiful vistas and quaint villages, a mental health crisis persists within the blue line.
Although the Adirondacks is roughly the size of Vermont, there is only one in-patient mental health clinic in the park, while Vermont has over twenty (Vermont Dept of Public Health). And this Adirondack in-patient facility treats only patients over the age of fifty, forcing any younger residents needing treatment to go outside of the park to Ogdensburg, Utica, Glens Falls, or Plattsburg.
While every county does have at least one clinic that offers outpatient services, they often struggle to provide the best level of treatment possible. For example, as of June 2014, the Essex county treatment center had been without a psychiatrist for six months, meaning that patients who needed prescriptions written during that time would have had to travel to another clinic or go without their medication. However, this is not an uncommon occurrence, since clinics often have trouble recruiting professionals to come work in the park and live in such a rural place.
Additionally, the stigma surrounding mental health is especially prevalent in the culture of the Adirondacks, which keeps many individuals from seeking help. The Adirondacks have a culture of every man for himself that emphasizes a heightened sense of toughness and independence. Since communities are so small, anyone who drives by the clinic and sees your car will know you are inside receiving treatment and it is not unlikely that you might run into someone else you know in the waiting room. This small town factor keeps people from seeking treatment because they fear that they will be seen as weak for getting help. This leaves many people to struggle with their mental illness on their own, feeling like there is nowhere to turn. The long, dark Adirondack winters don’t help either – the lack of sunlight contributing to depressive disorders.
These are all contributing factors to Essex county’s suicide rate, which is double that of the rest of the state of New York. With statistics like these, one would think that the state would put more resources into such a high-risk area, but more funds are consistently allocated to downstate counties.
The Adirondack community will continue to fight against the mental health struggle as best it can with the resources it has and do its best to give support to all residents who need it. As visitors to the Adirondacks, of course we will continue to appreciate its beauty and quaintness, but it is still important to acknowledge the harsh realities of life in the Adirondacks as a reminder to respect the residents and their struggles.
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This presents a very important aspect of Adirondack culture that is increasingly present in the larger context of the nation. I hope the rising awareness of the validity of mental health concerns reaches the park quickly. Part of this, I think, will come from the legislative end of public health. An important issue to watch for sure.
ReplyDeleteThis is appalling and extremely disappointing to me. I could have guessed that mental health in the Adirondacks wasn't the best, but this is far beyond what I would have expected. We talk so often about how the Adirondacks are unique and strike certain places between public and private, between humans and nature, but still there are so many imperfections that haven't been address. Thanks for sharing, Katherine, this is a really important discussion that should be brought up more often.
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