How Nick Paul’s advocacy for mental wellness is impacting Tampa Bay

TAMPA — From an early age, hockey players are taught that it’s strong to suck it up and shelve massive amounts of physical pain for the benefit of their teams.

There also can be major mental hurdles, which Nick Paul knows first hand. The Lightning forward has been open with his own mental wellness as he struggled to stick on an NHL roster early in his professional career with Ottawa. He also is eager to share his success story, how his career took off when he was able to open up and talk about his feelings and find avenues to handle his anxiety.

“It’s huge, especially being vulnerable, letting people know that not everyone’s perfect,” Paul said. “People go through stuff, and it may look like everything’s going right in their life, but on the mental side, they’re just not there and they’re not happy and they’re dealing with some stuff.

“Maybe something in their own personal life happened where they’re struggling. You never know what people are going through. ... To say, ‘Hey, I’ve struggled with this, too,’ it’s kind of nice for the youth. They can see that and be like, ‘Hey, you know what? I’m not alone. If they can get help, and they work on their mental health, I can definitely do that, too.’ ”

Through his “Points by Paul” initiative, Paul donates $150 for every point he scores to the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay. On Tuesday, he presented the organization with a check for $14,400. Paul set career highs with 26 goals and 48 points this season for a total of $7,200 — and the Lightning Foundation matched his donation.

When Paul took a tour around the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay last year, he was struck by the organization’s 24-hour call center, where they have seven different crisis lines that take close to 110,000 calls a year. Many of the calls come into the center’s 988 suicide prevention hotline, which fields anywhere from 30 to 50 calls a day from throughout Hillsborough and Charlotte Counties.

“When someone calls in and says they want to take their life, for them to be able to talk them through that and see how they are and send responders there to help them to make sure nothing happens, I thought that was amazing,” Paul said.

“People are at their last end and they don’t really know what to do and they feel like they have no one to turn to and they make that call and it ends up saving their life. So I thought that was amazing.”

The Crisis Center runs scheduled tours of its facility like the one Paul took, arranged through their website, crisiscenter.com.

Clara Reynolds, president and CEO of the center, said Paul’s donation will help keep phone lines open 24 hours a day. While the center receives government grants and contracts, it still needs financial support like what Paul and the Lightning are providing to keep the lines staffed at all times.

“Our work is not something that you can call back during the hours of 9 to 5,” Reynolds said. “We have to be available at 2 in the morning on Christmas Eve. Whenever there’s somebody is in crisis, that phone rings 24 hours a day, seven days a week and there has to be staff available.”

As important as Paul’s financial donation is, Reynolds said Paul has been a major help in destigmatizing mental health with his willingness to talk openly, recording messages that are played during games and posted on social media platforms.

“He has such a broad audience,” Reynolds said. “And for us, you never know who’s attending a game and you hear that valuable message to know that it’s okay to not be okay. And it had his endorsement, if you will. ... To have somebody like Nick taking this flag, and really raising it and saying, ‘Look, mental health is important. I am an athlete, and I admit that mental health has impacted my life and I am proud of the fact that I reach out and ask for help,’ Nick was willing to, to be that face and to really take this on himself.”

When he was in high school, one of Paul’s lacrosse teammates died by suicide. His friend was always happy and joking, a “glass half full guy,” so there were no warning signs. That’s when Paul first made it a conscientious effort to check in on his friends and wanted to be someone others could talk to about their problems.

Paul then started his “Points by Paul” initiative when he was a 19 year old playing junior hockey in North Bay, Ontario, where he connected with the local hospital and they collected donations for every time Paul scored. He continued the iniative when he reached the NHL with the Senators.

Still, Paul struggled with his own mental health issues while shuttling between the NHL and minors, he said he felt like a failure, that he wasn’t living up to expectations. He moved down to Estero and embraced a new training routine that included meditation and yoga, which helped him relax and gain clarity. It also allowed him to open up to his family and future wife, Janessa.

Paul’s personal growth continues. This past season, Paul was one of five Lightning players to earn certification through the NHLPA to become a player that teammates can go to to discuss mental health issues. He and his wife began going to church this year, joined a support group there, and Paul said just praying has helped.

He hopes to continue to grow “Points by Paul.” He’s had people stop him on the street and tell them how they appreciate the work he’s doing. Paul plans to start a ball hockey tournament in Tampa to bring kids out and spread his message of talking about mental health. He’s hoping to expand his reach to help local veterans as well.

“From what I’ve seen so far for what it’s done, just makes me want to grow it even more and just continue to be able to help,” Paul said. “I just want to make it as big as possible. I’ll stop when the stigma stops.”

Need help?

Contact the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8, visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org or call the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay by dialing 2-1-1.

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