SYRACUSE, N.Y. – It has been 10 years.
"She had a laugh that I can still hear,” said Lisa Craig about her daughter, Corinne, who they called Corey.
Ten years, but Craig will never forget her daughter -- or the disease that killed her.
"Our beautiful daughter, Corrine Craig, who was 16, ended her life by suicide,” said Craig.
Ten years, and that day is still a terrible surprise, but they know now that it shouldn't have been.
"We did everything we knew how to do. Found out that we didn't know what we didn't know,” said Craig. “It's hard to tell what's teenage angst and what's illness."
Ten years and now, doctors at Upstate Medical University say they are finally taking the guessing out of finding help for teens like Corey.
"This is the first program in the region to offer specialized treatment for high-risk youth and young adults,” said Upstate Medical University Professor of Psychiatry Robert Gregory. “So people who struggle with suicidal thoughts and behaviors and surprisingly there are very few in the country."
Gregory has developed the type of treatment in this program over the past 10 years. Patients can either self-refer or get a physician's referral to get help at Upstate's new "High-Risk Youth Psychiatry Program."
"It made me smile,” said Craig. “It's just great that something like this is finally here."
The Craigs say they struggled to find the right way to help their daughter, but hopefully this program will give other families a direct path. And 10 years later, thanks to Upstate, they hope good help might be good enough.
Doctors say the need for the new program has been building, but was highlighted by state health department data that CNY suicide rates far surpass the statewide average of 8.6 deaths per 100,000 people.
From 2011 to 2013, Oswego County had the highest rate of 16.5, Cayuga County hit 11.1 and Onondaga County has 10.7 suicide deaths per 100,000 people.