Spectrum Health partners with UB to provide mental health tips during Alumni Arena games

Spectrum Health & Human Services has teamed up with University at Buffalo’s Division of Athletics to dish out mental health tips during games at Alumni Arena.

The multiyear partnership started this month and includes a “Mental Health Tip of the Week,” which is shown during one men’s basketball and one women’s basketball game each week. 

There are a total of four videos, and the first one ran Feb. 4 during the women’s home basketball game against Northern Illinois. In the video, D’Ann Keller, UB’s senior associate athletic director for sports administration, notes that as many as 44% of college freshmen experience symptoms of depression, noting that students should watch for loss of interest in social activities, feelings of being overwhelmed, changes in eating and sleeping patterns and lack of energy.

“Spectrum Health is your teammate in mental health,” Keller says on the video.

The videos will conclude March 3 during the men’s basketball final home game against Miami (Ohio) University. But that is just the start of what Spectrum Health and UB hope will be a long partnership to raise awareness and eliminate the stigma around mental health and substance use disorders. 

‘It’s OK to ask for help’

Chris Weber, a peer specialist on Spectrum Health’s Medication Assisted Treatment Team, is featured in one of the videos, which was shown at the Feb. 10 men’s basketball home game against Kent State.

And Weber knows what it’s like to feel lost.

More than a decade ago, he was on the basketball team at SUNY Cobleskill when, in the first week of practices, his knee gave out while running sprints. He had sustained injuries to both his ACL and MCL.

Suddenly, he had lost that constant in his life. He had played basketball since he was 5 years old, shooting around with his dad in the driveway while growing up in Albany. 

“I ended up staying there two semesters, didn’t rejoin the team and just kind of lost focus on how much of an impact basketball had on my daily life, from showing up, practicing, having schedules, workout routines and being around a team,” Weber recalled.

He returned to Albany and worked for a landscaping company. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do next. He eventually ended up working in real estate in Albany until the pandemic upended that market. From there, he came to Buffalo, where his friends were in the construction business. 

Then, last summer, he enrolled in a substance use disorder support specialist program at D’Youville University, and was later hired at Spectrum Health in October. Now, he’s helping people with mental health and substance use disorders as they try to set up that solid foundation to facilitate recovery.

Through the UB partnership, he’s hoping to reach and connect with more people, to let them know of all the resources available that he wishes he had known about when he was struggling all those years ago. Weber and the Medication Assisted Treatment Team plan to be at Alumni Arena for the March 3 game, where they will pass out information and train people on how to use Narcan.

“It’s important for people to take time for themselves, to really take a step back and ask for help if they’re struggling,” Weber said. “It’s important for people to understand that no matter where you are, it’s OK to ask for help.”

And today, basketball again plays an important role in Weber’s life. In fact, he also referees college basketball – and coaches always take notice of his name.

“Whenever I meet a coach, they always give me a hard time about asking for timeouts,” said Weber, referencing the infamous timeout taken by Michigan basketball legend Chris Webber during the 1993 national championship.

Welcome to Buffalo Next. This newsletter from The Buffalo News will bring you the latest coverage on the changing Buffalo Niagara economy – from real estate to health care to startups. Read more at BuffaloNext.com.

Highmark accepting grant applications

Highmark BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York is accepting applications for 2023 Blue Fund grants through March 3.

The Blue Fund will consider requests for $100,000 to $300,000 grants from nonprofits in the eight-county Western New York region for initiatives that tackle key focus areas, such as behavioral health, cardiovascular health, health care workforce development, healthy children and maternal health.

Highmark said its Blue Fund has awarded more than $15 million in grants over the last five years. Nonprofits interested in applying can visit bcbswny.com/bluefund to learn more and to submit a letter of intent for the 2023 grant cycle.

Western New York’s largest health plan also recently provided a grant of $1 million to Say Yes Buffalo’s Forever Scholarship Endowment, as well as a $200,000 grant to BestSelf Behavioral Health for the expansion of the provider’s Child Advocacy Program. 

Catch up on the latest news from the Buffalo Niagara economy:

Erie County is seeking a developer for the historic Wendt Mansion.

The Erie County health commissioner addressed the need for more – and better – services for mental health patients.

Medaille University has cut eight jobs as enrollment dips.

Office vacancies are rising across the Buffalo Niagara region – and especially downtown.

Niacet is planning to expand its Niagara Falls factory.

Six weeks after the December blizzard, some stores damaged by looters still haven’t reopened.

Life Storage received an $11 billion hostile takeover bid from the nation’s biggest self-storage firm, Public Storage.

Five reads from Buffalo Next:

1. Inside Brooks-TLC’s seven-year push for a new hospital: Now, more than ever, it feels like Brooks-TLC Hospital System’s plan for a new hospital in Fredonia is at a critical juncture. Could the long-delayed plan finally be moving forward?

2. Mechatronics, the new, in-demand tech field fueled by ECC and Northland Training Center: Despite ECC’s struggles with declining enrollment, its mechatronics program is thriving. The program is in its fourth year, and this spring will reach over 200 graduates.

3. A different type of developer: How an East Buffalo laundromat project is an example of a new type of development that could help transform neighborhoods, one building at a time.

4. The Buffalo Sabres are in the thick of a playoff chase for the first time in a decade and fans are slowly starting to return to the KeyBank Center, where attendance is way up from last year, but empty seats remain plentiful.

5. The cannabis industry is starting to establish itself in Western New York, but companies in that sector have to be careful about actually using the word cannabis, because it is still illegal on the federal level.

The Buffalo Next team gives you the big picture on the region’s economic revitalization. Email tips to [email protected] or reach Buffalo Next  Editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435.

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