Sabres, #SameHere Global host mental health event for WNY schools 

Eric Kussin was a senior-level executive in the professional sports realm when his mental health began to rapidly decline. He had more than he had dreamed of, and couldn’t understand what was wrong.

As he laid in bed feeling helpless and searching for answers, professionals helped him realize that a number of challenging life events had negatively affected his mental health and shut his body down. Kussin had let these traumatic experiences build up over time and hadn’t done anything about it because he felt the topic of mental health didn’t apply to him.

After learning from practitioners how to properly heal his body and nervous system, Kussin devoted his life to changing the conversation surrounding mental health and teaching others that it is a topic that applies to all rather than a select few. He founded #SameHere, a global mental health movement dedicated to educating others on how mental health works on a continuum, with people experiencing more severe declines than others over varying periods of time in their lives, while spreading the message that everyone in the world is impacted by life’s traumas and stresses.

The Buffalo Sabres brought Kussin to Buffalo to host a #SameHere mental health event on Tuesday to engage Western New York schools in the important conversation and give students steps they can follow when in need of help.

“The whole goal of the organization was to start getting messages out there about how everyone faces challenges in life – divorces, job loss, breakups, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, bullying, cyberbullying, sickness of loved ones, loss of loved ones,” Kussin said. “All these things that we all go through that contribute to how we feel, we think, we function. If we can flip the narrative away from mental illness and disorders, and instead make it about what happened to you and what you lived through, it becomes inclusive.

“… With having 200+ school kids here, they can feel like they're all on the same team, working together. And if someone's going through something terrible, it's not, ‘Who's the bad kid and they need to go see a counselor and there's something wrong with them.’ It's, ‘How do we rally around you and help you?’”

Participating local students who gathered at KeyBank Center for the event included students from Lake Shore, Eden, Forestville, Niagara Falls, Iroquois, Lockport, Starpoint, Sweet Home, St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute, Springfield-Griffith Institute, Buffalo Academy for Visual & Performing Arts, and Buffalo Seminary.

The students had the opportunity to watch the team’s morning skate ahead of its game against the Detroit Red Wings before participating in a #SameHere L.I.F.E. presentation and having lunch together provided by the Sabres.

“We’re proud to be working with Eric and #SameHere Global in discussing the topic of mental health,” said Frank Batres-Landaeta, VP of Revenue Strategy for the Buffalo Sabres. “It is a topic that has been underrepresented for a long time and is important for the organization to be part of the conversation. When the idea to engage with WNY schools to discuss the L.I.F.E Program was introduced, we were energized knowing the impact that it would have on students. Prioritizing mental health among students is important as they navigate challenges and understand that they are not alone in any struggles they face. We are looking forward to expanding our relationship with schools and ensuring this discussion continues.”

Kussin shared his personal story with students and provided examples of the mental health continuum while teaching them the four L.I.F.E. steps to follow when having suicidal ideations or a mental health crisis: look around for help, initiate dialogue, find a safe place and stay there, and explain what’s going on. The students then signed the Life Saver Pledge and received Life Saver cards to carry in their wallets or purses to find help when in need.

The students also received tickets to Tuesday’s game to see the Sabres in action. Kussin believes it is important for professional sports teams to help spread the #SameHere message to normalize mental health struggles among everyone, including athletes.

“We need the power of the reach of the sports teams to normalize having different players hold up signs about belonging, about feeling isolated, about feeling like they’re having those repetitive thoughts,” Kussin said. “When fans understand that all players feel all of these things and it’s not the couple of players on the team who have ‘it’ – that’s where the normalization concept comes into place.”

For more information on the #SameHere movement, visit samehereglobal.org.