Jordan Poyer honored for passionate commitment to advocating for those with mental health struggles

May 4—Jordan Poyer never could have imagined sharing his story would make such a lasting impact.

On March 13, 2021, Poyer posted about what led him to stop drinking one year prior. His willingness to be open and honest about his alcohol addiction was the first step. Since that time, Poyer has become a passionate advocate for anyone in need of assistance with their mental health.

On Thursday night, before a crowd of about 400 at the Powerhouse in Buffalo, Poyer accepted the advocacy award from Mental Health Advocates for his work in reducing the stigma associated with mental illness.

"He's using his platforms to speak out about his own struggles and because he's an important member in our community, he's a Buffalo Bill, he really is a role model for a lot of folks," said MHA's executive director, Melinda DuBois. "Especially for our youth, he's really a role model, so him publicly stating that he struggles with his own mental health is huge for our community. What we're really encouraging people to do is be able to talk about their own personal struggles. The more we talk about it, the less stigmatized it is. So we're really honoring Jordan for his willingness to speak out."

Poyer, 32, is entering his seventh season as a member of the Bills. Both the community and team went through a hellacious 2022, starting with the racist mass shooting at the Jefferson Avenue Tops about a year ago and extending into the fall and winter, when a deadly blizzard struck right before Christmas. Then two days into 2023, Poyer was on the field when his teammate, Damar Hamlin, collapsed on the field in Cincinnati because of cardiac arrest.

"It almost seems like the world is just going in circles right now, with everything that's going on," he said. "We talked about it, everything that happened in the last year within Buffalo, the community, so many things that this community had to go through. Even throughout the season, you look back and you think about it — man, there is just some really strong people in that community, on that football team. It really just shows a lot about the type of people that are here. That's really one of the big reasons why I wanted to be out in the community.

"I've really gotten to grow to love this community. My brother lives here. ... My daughter is damn near raised in Buffalo. It's crazy. Buffalo is home. ... It's been seven years, you guys have seen me grow up, really, from a lot of (expletive), to say the least, and still continue to grow. I want to be able to use the platform that I've built to be able to get out in the community and use my voice to shed that light."

DuBois, who is in her third year in her current role, said that type of leadership is invaluable. MHA runs nine different programs to help both families and children in Western New York who are dealing with mental health challenges, and Thursday's dinner was the organization's largest fundraiser of the year.

"The more celebrities and sports figures talk about their own struggles, especially because people just view them as being larger than life, right? So when they talk about their realistic struggles, it allows people to really look at their own stuff and say, 'You know what, ok, I'm having my own struggle,' " she said. "In fact, we know somebody who had heard that Jordan Poyer had quit drinking and really they reflected on their own alcohol use and decided they were going to quit, too, that it was a problem for them. So that's what we expect."

Despite the advancements that have been made in identifying and treating mental illness, there is still work to be done.

"The stigma is real with men, which is always concerning," DuBois said. "There is just this sense of being strong and powering through it, but I think what we also learned this year, especially with Damar Hamlin's accident on the field, is that a lot of people have trauma, and we witnessed that trauma on the field. We all kind of pulled together as a community to support each other, but football players are human beings, they are people like the rest of us. The more that we can talk about mental health and addiction, the better off everybody is going to be.

"We used to say that about one in five people struggle with a mental health concern. The reality is we're not saying about five in five, because we all struggle. If we aren't personally struggling with some kind of mental health concern, our kids are, our parents are, our families, our neighbors, our friends, the work force. So we all know somebody who is struggling, so that I think is another important message."

On the surface, it's easy to think a professional athlete's life may not be filled with much stress. Mental illness, however, does not discriminate based on one's financial situation.

"We all have stuff going on," Poyer said. "I think to a certain extent, we all kind of hold stuff deep down in. If you need someone to talk to, I'm here to talk to. We all need that. We all need to just continue to spread love. That's why I'm here, I guess. ... I really can't believe that I'm standing here amongst all you beautiful people in this position, speaking on this issue."

Poyer has accomplished a lot as he enters his 11th season in the NFL, including being named a first-team All-Pro in 2021 and making his first Pro Bowl last year. He likes to think of himself as more than just an athlete, though, and few who listened to him speak Thursday would dispute that.

"I think one of my biggest accolades is being able to help those off the field in any way that I can, not just with alcohol addiction, just life in general," he said. "I like to shed my light, I like to share my love and I encourage the rest of us to do so as well. A simple smile, a simple thank you, a simple hello, it goes a long way, so that's why I'm here.

"It is ok to ask for help, it's ok to accept that you have an issue, that there is something deep going on, that we keep so deep inside of us, and we hold onto and it kind of drags us down throughout our life. For me, being able to come out about my alcohol addiction, I didn't think it would end up like this at all. I wanted to be able to help people. That's all I've ever wanted to do is be able to just help people. I've been able to build a platform with football, with other things off the field to have this position and to be able to be here and speak and raise awareness to mental health. I'm nowhere near perfect, at all. I'm still on my journey, as well, to being the best version of myself, but I think this is a step in the right direction."

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