Patricia Doxsey is reporting for the Daily Freeman officials in Ulster County are concerned about an increase in suicide during the coronavirus emergency. At the height of the pandemic in May, five county residents took their lives and by August the number of suicides recorded stood at 20, just shy of the 23 residents who died by their own hand in all of 2019. "We've definitely seen an uptick," said Tara McDonald, deputy commissioner for the Ulster County Department of Health and Mental Health. "May was actually quite concerning for us," she said. "The numbers are relatively small, but it's alarming," Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan said. County officials are also reporting a shift in demographics among those who are ending their lives. While men continue to outpace women, the age of those taking their own lives has increased. McDonald would not directly link the uptick in suicides to the coronavirus pandemic but said it is hard not to think the combination of the economic consequences for those who have lost their jobs or been furloughed, along with concerns about housing and food security, have had an impact. "The isolation that was forced by COVID, if you are really contemplating suicide, is crippling," McDonald said. In response to the data, the department has begun to shift its attention to providing outreach and education to those in the older demographics, taking out ads in community newspapers and using other means to reach out to those who might be struggling. In his 2021 proposed budget, Ryan included additional funding for mental health services to put a licensed clinician in the 911 center and additional hours for the county's mobile mental health service. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.