Hello, good morning and welcome to Good News
York. My favorite part, my favorite day of Good
News York, Thursday, because it's our last day
and the weekend is coming. I am extra excited
because it is draft day, obviously. I did the
draft special yesterday. If you haven't seen
it, check it out. GoodNewsYork .com. It's where
all our episodes are. I'm a big draft dork, so
very excited about tonight. But I'm even more
excited because I am joined today by some very,
very, very special guests. One being my best
friend and former, well, still bandmate, Darrell
Harrington of Be Kind. And he has also joined
along with Sandra Sorensen from NAMI Finger Lakes
and Samantha Shoemaker from Free Hugs Ithaca.
And I am so glad you guys are here. Thank you
so much for coming. Thanks for having us. Well,
of course. Well, not you. But Darryl and I, I
mean, Darryl, when I, you know, you use that
term loosely, like, oh, they're like a brother,
they're like a sister. He really is like a brother.
I mean, when you play in a band with somebody,
it's a, it's a different experience, different
bond. It is. You know, that it lasts forever.
And then we also hang out, which we're going
to talk about the Metallica show in Q's at the
Dome before the end of this episode. We went
together, so we'll talk about that. But let's
talk about you guys and why you're here. First
of all, I thought it was hilarious that the irony
of you walked in, Samantha, wearing your Free
Hugs Ithaca shirt. She introduces herself and
I shake her hand. And then like 30 seconds went
by, I was like, why didn't I hug you? That's
the dumbest thing I could have done. But welcome.
So Darryl, let's talk about first... be kind
and how this started because I mean, I know how
it started. I witnessed it. And it's just pretty
amazing from my point of view as your friend
to watch what it's become. And as you can see
here, I'll hold these up. Those are our new window
clings. Window clings. That portion goes to Nami.
So yeah, Daryl. So let's talk about, let's go
back to how you came about with the idea and
how it started. So we're, shut down just happened
and You know my wife well. I do. My wife's very
solid, not much rattles her. She's got a funny
little horn, apparently. They had a truck to
track the trailer. There it is. Yep. And so anyways,
we were, and at this point, I was in therapy
for stuff which we'll get into. Sure. So I had
different tools in the box from calm and down,
but she got really stressed from the whole shutdown
and she ran through a light. It was two, actually.
I was like, okay, switch, and we got home, did
some breathing stuff, and when I got home, throughout
the next day or so, I was like, man, there's
gotta be a lot of people freaking out, like a
lot, which there was. And there were. I was like,
I wanna do something, I wanna say something,
but I was like, I'm not doing it on social media.
I mean, it depends. You never know what you're
gonna get. You could post the nicest thing on
social media, and someone's like, go to hell.
So anyways, I was like, you know, lots of wood.
I do woodworking and stuff, so I was like, I'm
gonna make a huge heart and hang it on my fence.
We live on this busy corner. I don't know what
I'm gonna put on it. And I was like, okay, well,
you know, kindness or be sweet or, you know,
love or, you know, something. I was like, well,
be kind. It's simple. I didn't know what I was
doing. I made this huge heart. I took, because
we got all the time in the world, I took Christmas
lights and took every other ball ball and put
a red and white one, red and white one around
the whole thing. And then put a big spotlight
on it, and I was like if one person drives by
and it helps them decompress or just smile That's
it and by the way It works too because you live
like right on a busy road where there's a complete
traffic constant takes me two hours and my driveway
He put it up on this fence that faces the road,
and we're taught I mean, it's it's like you know
the side wall here foot by six It's massive yeah,
and so you put it up. Yep, and So my neighbor,
I live next to Dolce Delight. Hi, Maria. Great
restaurant in New York. Yeah, if you're in town,
go. And she called me and she said one of my
friends was having a tough time and she drove
by and saw it and smiled. Oh, man. And I go,
cool. It just paid for itself right there. That's
the whole reason I did it and that was it. And
then, well... I don't know, four or five days
later, Maria started texting me and goes, hey,
I want one from my corner. So that was the first
one that went in the ground. We put it in the
ground and, cool, that's it. And then she goes,
I think I should start selling them. And I go,
absolutely not. I was like, you're crazy. Everybody's
losing their jobs. They're stuck. Our pet signs
are falling off. She nicely, she's like a sister
to me, she nicely, we went back and forth and
back and forth and she goes, okay. She's like,
make me 10 of them, tell me what they cost. And
I had no clue what I was doing. And I just used
scrap wood and stuff, gave her 10 and she handed
them out. And here we are five years later. Made
over 2 ,000, shipped them all over to the United
States, different countries from Scotland, England,
Ireland. Rewind a little bit in the beginning,
too. So when, well, the price of wood went up.
So I ran out of scrap. I had to start charging
for them. I like keeping them at a price that
everybody can afford. Of course. And so as that
was happening, people started buying them. People
just kind of started, oh, here's an extra $5
and stuff. And everything was paid for. And this
isn't a money making thing. So I just put it
in a pot and started donating to different organizations.
So then that... It became its own thing. And
throughout the years, we had different, like
our wristbands go to the portion goes SBCA, our,
uh, window clings, a portion goes to NAMI, our
key chains, a portion goes to the downtown at
the children's center. We've donated to different,
uh, in Tennessee when they had that big flood.
Uh, we donated to that. We donated to stuff.
So it's not just local. It's all over the place.
So we've gotten to donate thousands of thousands
of dollars through that. And then. throughout
all that, now we're just like steps away from
becoming an officially non -profit. I got one
of the numbers, so yeah. You also now have programs
coming that we have in the works that will be,
one is looking forward to when our first legs
is for, I have a friend, he's a personal trainer,
he's gonna run this. It's not me. It's not Mike.
Mike does train. And it'll be for seniors like
exercise classes. Nice. It helps them keep on
moving and stuff. A lot of people forget about
the seniors and the seniors need to keep moving.
You know, it's, dude, I'm, you know, this is
a little different than, you know, when we interview
people that do incredible things, because you're
one of my best friends. So like, it touches me
personally to see, because I know who you are.
I know your heart. You know, we share a lot of
that. And to see what you do for everybody. but
also to see it growing. I mean, buddy, I drive
around all over the place. I've been in far corners
of New York state, and I'm like, what the? That's
a Be Kind. That's my butt. And then I see on
your website, which, by the way, Darryl Harrington
here, Be Kind Ithaca, I see there's people posting
from different states, right? Different countries.
Yeah. So what? We got a picture of the Blarney
Stone in Ireland. It's dope. Yep, there's some
in Dublin, yeah. It's nuts. And now you wear,
or what things do you, so you make this, it started
with the signs, which I used to love by the way.
Talk about starting out grassroots style. You
could drive by your house and on your front porch
there'd be a line of like 15 upside down be kind
signs drying. Yep. What do you make in addition
to the signs? And you also customize them too,
right? So the signs, yeah, we do all custom pretty
much, I mean. Anything you want. I hand paint
them. They're hand painted. So it takes... We
do them per order. It takes a while. Like, there's
a lot of steps when I started it. I... It wasn't
supposed to turn into this, which is great. I'm
not complaining. That's what makes it cooler.
But we weren't... Like, the making of them is
really not efficient time. It'd take a long time
to make. Yeah. Would I build them the last thing?
But yeah, I do custom stuff. I just did a...
It was for a friend. It's a... House Divided
Bengals Bill Slash. Oh. Yeah. Wow. So, yeah,
we do... They better be kind. It's cool, because
I like the challenge on them. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's like, okay. You made one for me. It's a
Bill's one that we have in our front yard. You
know, it's such a simple sentiment, but, you
know, you could say maybe the timing was a little
weird with the pandemic. I thought the timing
was perfect, because, boy, are we in a time when
we need to be kind, because there's not a lot
of it. That's it. There is. But it's being overshadowed
by all the negativity on social media. Totally.
And the one thing, for me personally, it changed
my outlook on humanity, because at that time,
I thought everybody was angry. And it's not.
This is my, I've said this for years now, I've
met the most amazing people. And they're all
the ones behind the scenes. That just, I say
one out of 10 people, you take one out of 10.
One's not a nice... person those other nine are
just amazing people you never ever hear about
and they do just I would have never met all these
people and yeah, I would have never I know these
people we are gonna get some of the most amazing
women in my life, but I I've met them and I already
can tell they're amazing and again, we have Sandra
Sorensen here from Nami Finger Lakes and Samantha
Shoemaker from Free Hugs, Ithaca I do want to
talk about how this all came together, but I
want to mention You know, another thing I love
about Be Kind is we went to the Metallica concert
at the Dome this past weekend. And something
I loved watching you do is when we interacted
with somebody and had like a good interaction,
you pulled a Be Kind sticker out and you said,
thanks for being kind. I thought that was so
fucking cool, man. Like, I think that's more
effective than anything because it's a face -to
-face interaction and you're giving them, it's
just... You don't see a lot of it, and I really
love that about you. I tried to put this in my
stand -up bit once. I never kind of turned it
into a bit, but do you remember when we talked
about, we were on the road with the band, and
this is kind of how I knew that Daryl was gonna
succeed with this Be Kind thing, is because it's,
first of all, this is inspired by... Everything
you talked about, but also you and I have had
our mental health struggles, and we helped each
other a lot. We went like, he got me to go to
therapy. Well, you got yourself to go to therapy,
I just told you about it. Yeah, you took some
pounding on me for years. Well, good way. Like,
he's like, hey man, I think you need some therapy.
I do not need therapy. But it was from a place
of, I love you, but also I recognized... You
were doing the things I was doing, and I knew
that there was help. And I think from knowing
you the amount of time, I think it was the greatest
thing you've ever done, other than marry Jackie,
would be, I have to say that, she'll kill me.
No, no, I think that was one of the most important.
decisions and moves of your life, I think. I
think, I don't know if this would've came along
if you had it, you know? But the joke I used
to say is, when we were, wherever we were, and
I remember thinking, shit, Darryl, I go, I'm
glad this Be Kind thing's taking off, I go, but
what's gonna happen when someone's nasty with
you over the phone? Like, you can't be nasty
back, you're gonna have to just eat shit. Like,
you know, customer service is tough at Be Kind,
because... How are you gonna turn around and
be like, well screw you? That's not in that and
we talked about that because I was I had a job
I was working in the delivery from I'm not gonna
say which one the lumber was Was not put in and
I got people there getting paid waiting to unload
And I call and I go ahead and I'm like this and
I pull my card out says be kind Ithaca. I was
like, so what can we do? It's tough it's tough
But exactly. But I am no saint, believe me. So
now we know the basis of how Be Kind started.
And when I asked you to come on the show, you
said you were going to bring some friends. Again,
we have Sandra Sorensen from NAMI Finger Lakes
and Samantha Shoemaker from Free Hugs Ithaca.
Welcome. Thank you for being here. How did this
three of you come together? Let's start there.
How did this become a team? So, Samantha contacted
me. She gets a bunch of baby hearts. And coincidentally,
she lives in my hometown, which we didn't know
back then. I'd be like, oh, I'm going to see
my parents. I'll drop them off, you know? So
then one day, she sent me a video. And she goes,
hey, I do this kind of stuff. And she's from
Rochester. Nice. And there's this video of her
doing free hugs at Lilac Vest with a videographer
that followed them around. And they hug people.
It's the coolest thing. And I go, why don't we
start doing this in Ithaca? You're in Ithaca.
And we met. It was funny the first time. So we
went to Apple Fest. I was with Jack. I go, I
don't even know what she looks like. I don't
know who I'm looking for, right? I'm just looking
for a free hugs person, right? Hugging random
people. This is like way outside my box to sit
on the commons and hug thousands of people with
signs, right? Bend Ithaca, that's a real risk
because you don't know what you're dealing in.
And that's what you think, but it's, I mean,
people would, you know, I'd be like, oh my god,
who would happen? So anyways, it was one of the
coolest things. It was like a dopamine high,
is that what it is? Mean they do say there there
are studies that they say hugging for I think
they even have it down to like eight to ten seconds
Releases like you know, whatever it is serotonin.
Is it 20 seconds? Hang in there. You got you
got to really make it awkward Wow, so we're making
this word, but I gotta get you open man You would
be surprised how long 20 seconds. I know well
no comment, but anyway, um Sorry You know, one
of my favorite music videos of all time is the
Dave Matthews Band everyday video. Do you know
about this? Because in the video, I forget the
comedic actor's name, he walks around New York
City and he's just hugging everybody. And I get
goosebumps when I think about it because it's
just so... Not only hugging other people gives
you dopamine, I think watching other people hug.
He's literally just going up to random strangers.
So when you told me about Samantha and free hugs,
I was like, I'm in love with this idea just based
on that video. So did you get inspiration from
that or is it just like, oh. No, I was in college
and I saw The original guy, I never can remember
his name when I put on the spot, but out west
and he started to see these videos circulating
around social media. And then one of my college
coeds put a video on his socials and I was like,
wait a second, where did you go? Thinking somehow
they were linked, like forgetting that it's actually
a large world here. Yeah. Yeah, no, he just did
it on his own and decided to videotape it. And
I said, that's it. I'm doing it. I'm doing it.
And it took me, that was in like 2013 or 14.
I was like, thank you very much. And I started
doing it in Rochester by the time I finally got
the plan in order. It was 2016. And then we started
making sure it's 2017. We had a little hookup
at the... but we handed out cards for that one,
little business cards that said free hugs. Yeah,
it just turned into a thing. We'd go to the Lilac
Festival the first Saturday of every year, and
it got bigger and bigger and bigger. Well, I
can imagine you felt an immediate reward. Just
after the first hug, you were probably like,
it must be rewarding. And on top of that... Did
you get any instant feedback or do you get any
instant feedback of like hey, I needed that or
yes or Has anyone gotten emotional? Oh, yeah,
that's all the time So we have two rules and
one is you don't let go until they do and if
they're talking you listen Yeah, and that's it.
That's the only rule. Well, the third, you know
hidden rule would be don't use your cell phone
or not do any of that right, but yeah, so we
always had two rules and that we would say it
at the beginning and you know, just kind of remind
people if if they, you know, maybe a new hugger
might notice, they might make a face, because
someone said something, you know. And you just
kind of remind them, hey, you know, we're just
here to listen. And it really, so much feedback.
So one of them, I had this huge guy coming at
me, and he's like, and he hugs me, and then he
was like, you don't even understand how much
I needed this. In college time, when we're hugging,
like a lot of the college students say like,
My parents are so far away and I don't get hugs
anymore. One said they missed her. And we bring
Miggy with us a lot and she wears the thing.
Our dog, Miggy, is our black lab. In case people
don't want to hug us and they're the dog. Miggy's
always like the kid. I'm so touched by this.
They can hug her. I would like to make clear
though that I only sent Daryl the video out of
a very... Grave, thank you for those hearts.
He was like my hero before. I saw, I watched
it grow. He thinks it's so silly, but I'm so
serious. I watched it grow a little bit and then
I've seen more hearts. I'm like, I need to get,
it was my Christmas that was when I asked for
Santa for Christmas. I asked for a be kind heart
and I finally got it. I said, oh my gosh, I couldn't
even talk. I was like, self -attacked. Like meeting
a celebrity? But I do, I do. Yeah, it was really
just me being a fangirl. That's awesome. Yeah.
Free hugs, Ithaca. Be kind, Ithaca. What, I mean,
how do I word this? What's the business model?
So you, obviously you go to events, you give
out free hugs, and you sell merchandise. Let's
talk about - It's a dollar to let go. It's a
dollar to let go. It'd be funny if someone was
like, I don't have any cash. You gotta say cash
only? So then you gotta walk with them to the
ATM? Yeah. So you're just walking down and going
to an ATM together. Exactly. That's how I...
Embrace. But no, what is... So talk about Free
Hugs Ithaca. You can go to the website or the
Facebook page. And what's coming up? What do
you do? So, I mean, for me it's still very new
and just getting to learn all the resources like
NAMI is a huge one for us. I mean I have a friend
who works in the basement and she makes shirts
and I've never sold them before. I've always
just given them away and like I said the event
got bigger and bigger so now I've got. An inventory,
sure. Can't feel guilty about that. I mean, it
gets to a point, they're going through the same
thing. It just means you're succeeding. And,
you know, I think people are happy to pay. Well,
and he gave me the great idea, you know, just
to start to an end, really, because it isn't
free and your time's not free. And just kind
of put a little bit of different, totally different
perspective on it. And... You know, now I have
places that I like to donate to, Sophie Fund
and NAMI, whenever we can. You know, I'm not
really selling many shirts that don't market
myself well, but Facebook, Facebook, I'm at Facebook,
Free Hugs Ithaca, and we're building a Square
website. Nice. I just don't know what I'm doing,
so it's just a little slow press. That's all
right. NAMI. Yes. Sandra Sorensen, also here.
I am a little bit aware of Nami. Look, I'm just,
I mean, if ever there was a time, it might be
now. It may as well be now. I have struggled
with mental health my entire life. And as you
know, ebbs and flows. You know, there's time
periods where you're like, you're on the mend,
you're doing great, and then there's times when
you're going through a lot. And sometimes it...
Sometimes it's not tangible at all. It's just
the chemicals and who knows. So I've always been
a huge advocate for mental health awareness and
we've gotten to a place now where it seems like
it's working. It's out there, there's better
help and all these things and people are open
and talking about it. I went through a lot of
childhood trauma and I didn't realize that. I
mean, I kind of knew, but I didn't realize how
much that played a role. So all that to say,
it means a lot what all three of you do, but
specifically, you know, I love NAMI and National
Alliance on Mental Illness, by the way, is what
it stands for. And you're part of NAMI Finger
Lakes. Let's talk about that a little bit. Tell
us a little bit about the organization and how
you got involved. Yeah. So NAMI is the National
Alliance on Mental Illness. It's a national organization.
There are over 700 local affiliates across the
country. All of the affiliates are grassroots
organizations. So National doesn't plant affiliates.
It's just somebody has a heart to start a NAMI
and they do. So my first involvement with NAMI
was when my husband was suffering with bipolar.
and things were just really hard. And I heard
about this class called Family to Family, which
is one of NAMI's signature classes. And it's
for caregivers, people that are caring for somebody
that has mental illness. And I was just kind
of at my end, so I was like, it can't hurt. So
I took this class. And when you go into taking
a class like that, you're thinking like you're
gonna get solutions, right? Like I have this
problem, someone's gonna tell me what to do.
There's some magical thing out there that I didn't
know already. And what you end up with when you
take a NAMI Family to Family is you're in a space,
either virtual or in a basement. In my case,
we're in a church basement and it was like 20
people in the class. And the whole program is
somebody reading information to you. And like,
if someone had told me that's what it was ahead
of time, I would have been like, that is not
what I need. But, like, once a week, like, I
had a crazy household, five kids, and a husband
who was, like, in depression for nine months
at a time. Like, escaping to this little basement
once a week and, like, being immersed in, like,
someone just reading to me, like, it was so soothing.
And the sharing that happened in that group just
created, like, a really strong community. And
it was exactly what I needed at that time. Like,
it really fueled me and empowered me to be able
to, like... create boundaries and take care of
myself which is something that I had never learned
and how to like be sustained in this um this
relationship so fast forward pandemic came and
then my husband in may of 21 actually died by
suicide which was like really traumatizing I
had no connection with Nami between the family
to family class and that incident um And when
that happened, I was an executive director of
an organization that was housing homeless men
in transition. And I left that job to just figure
out life for a year and take care of my children.
And when I was ready to re -enter the workforce,
I started looking for jobs. And it was really
challenging because I have this gap that I have
to explain. So I was going through leadership
coaching on how to account for this and interviews
and stuff without like... trauma dumping on people.
So I finally felt well -trained. I had my cover
letter done. I had practiced interview questions
with my leadership coaching. And then I found
this job from NAMI. And I was like, oh my gosh,
I don't even have to not tell my story, because
that's what people at NAMI do. So right in my
cover letter, I was able to share that. And that
felt so comfortable. And I didn't expect to get
the job. But I did. And so I became the executive
director of NAMI Finger Lakes September of 23.
It was literally like a week later, I was at
an event for the Sophie Fund and I was terrified
to be there. It's like a suicide prevention event.
I didn't know if I was ready. Like I was going
to get triggered. I'm going to bring up a lot
of new executive director and I'm there like
bawling or like having a little moment. And so
I'm like trying to compose myself the whole time
and be professional. And I was like taking a
break from the talking like I was trying not
to listen to it because it was triggering. So
I was walking around and I came to Daryl's table.
And I loved the whole be kind heart thing. And
I was like, oh my gosh, my youngest daughter
will just love this. So I bought a t -shirt for
her for Christmas because I Christmas shopped
so far ahead of time. And so we started a conversation
super quick, just like casual. And then Daryl
was speaking at that event, which I didn't know.
So Daryl got up and shared his story. And it
was so touching to me. I had lived with a man
who was so afraid of stigma and never was able
to get through the Pride to get the help that
he needed or to share his story. And so the fact
that a man was standing up there sharing his
story was so powerful to me. And the event ended
and we were all cleaning up. And my friend was
like, come on, come on, come on, come on. And
I was like, I gotta go talk to this guy. I gotta
go talk to this guy. And so I ran over and I
was like, I so appreciate you sharing your story.
And he was like, it's the first time I've ever
shared my story. I remember you calling me about
how nervous you were. And I was like, oh my gosh,
it touched me so much. That was the most important
part of my day. That was so important to me.
And so that just kind of sparked a friendship
that has just never ended. So we started collaborating
on events together. And so every time we have
something, Be Kind comes. One thing that Daryl
did with another friend of ours who owns a coffee
shop is they made a Be Kind coffee blend and
proceeds of that came to Nami. So we did like
a pop -up like Valentine's Day self -love kind
of event for people that, you know, don't like
the Valentine's Day romance part of the thing.
And Samantha came and that's when I met her and
that was really fun. And then I started hugging
with Samantha and Daryl. And now look at you,
the three Amiga. So the cool thing about NAMI
is that we don't have social work degrees, we're
not psychiatrists, we're not therapists. We have
lived experience. That's better than any degree.
Instead of sharing at a head level, we share
at a heart level, which is a perfect combination
with the Be Kind heart. And so it's just a beautiful
way to connect with people and just hear them
and listen to them and let them know that they're
not alone. That is amazing. First of all, I'm
deeply touched by your story. And I really, I
know what it must take for you to have to dig
down and relive that just to talk about it. And
maybe in some ways it's healing. I know sometimes
it can be. But I thank you for being open about
that. That's a tough, I mean, there's nothing
tougher. I've lost a handful of people at this
point in my life who died by suicide. And it
is... My god, it is it's it's something that
I don't I don't wish on my worst enemy I Because
you know, it's a what do they say? it's a it's
a it's a long -term solution for a short -term
problem and then You're left thinking what could
I have done? I should have known, you know all
the and and you hear that and then it happens
to you and you find yourself actually saying
those things and I could have helped if I And
the truth is, it was going to happen whether
or not, you know, it is what it is, but it's
so hard to recover from that. And I must, I imagine
that this, in a way, not even in a way, this
is part of your recovery, I would imagine, right?
This is, I feel like he's with you all the time,
right? When you're out there advocating for this
stuff. I think one of the... One of the greatest
blessings of Nami for me has been, it's hard
to go back to work and try to put on a professional
persona and pretend things that happened to you
didn't happen, which would have been the case
if I had taken any other job, right? I would
not be sharing my story. It'd just be this hidden
thing. So one of the biggest blessings is like...
The support that came from like all of the staff
and volunteers like that in the lived experience
It was like entering in like a built -in family.
Yeah of supporters built -in friends and like
it's not Like me telling my story and not having
to hide from it. It's liberating for me Yeah,
and it helps other people too and so it's just
so cool that like I get to go through this part
of my journey and be able to make a living and
like pay for my house. So happy. I want to use
a phrase, you know, we're not making light of
the situation, but it is an ideal situation that
if you are to go through something as traumatic
as that, you're right. I think the hardest part
for anybody who is a survivor of someone who's
died by suicide is Having to go on with life
and and and have the energy and the mental ability
to to Just operate on a daily basis So being
in that environment must be so like you can be
yourself and if you're having a bad day You don't
you don't feel like you have to hide it. I think
that's so important I think you know, I don't
I I don't you know, whether it's the God or the
universe whatever it is I think they put you
in that position for a reason Yeah So NAMI Finger
Lakes. Was it namifingerlakes .com or just Google
NAMI Finger Lakes? It's dot org. Dot org. Yeah,
namifingerlakes .org. Namifingerlakes .org. And
so I'm someone who's struggling or maybe I know
someone who's struggling. When is the right time
to reach out to NAMI? In what situation? So our
basic mission is we support, advocate, and educate
in mental health. And our focus is mostly on
caregivers. which we define very loosely. So
it can be like spouses and partners, friends,
but it can also be coaches, teachers, first responders.
So we have a peer support program that we're
just about to launch that's for first responders.
And it's actually our only like peer support.
So people that are actually struggling with mental
health supporting each other. Our other support
groups are for people caring for people that
have mental illness. So we have a family support
group. Almost like an Al -Anon. Like the way,
what Al -Anon is to someone who's, you know,
struggling with a family member who's an alcoholic.
Kind of the same idea. Exactly. It's for the
people on the other side. That's wonderful. Yeah.
Which is really a cool niche. Like in Tompkins
County, which is, we serve Tompkins in Courtland
County. And in Tompkins County, there are a lot
of nonprofits that are working with people that
are struggling with mental health issues, a lot
of peer support programs. But we're one of the
few that do things for caregivers. And taking
care of caregivers inadvertently takes care of
the people that are struggling with mental health.
100%. It's a real blessing to be able to do that
because there's a different sense of loss and
hopelessness. when you're close to somebody and
you don't know what to do and there's nobody
to talk to or that understands what's going on.
Oh, God. I love this. That's wonderful because,
you know, even for what I'm going through, you
know, without getting too personal, you know,
I have these days or weeks where I'm really going
through some things and I'm thankful because
of therapy that I've built this self -awareness.
And I can kind of tell when when something's
going on. And I always make sure to say, you
know, I think my wife or I say, I'm sorry, you
know, that I'm a little off today or this week,
you know, because she doesn't understand it because
she doesn't go through it. And that's not her
fault. And I'm glad, obviously, I don't want
her to go through. I don't want anyone to go
through that. But it makes you realize, like,
you know, you think I'm struggling, I'm struggling.
I'm no one knows what I'm going through. Well,
guess what? You know, my wife is going through,
she's on the other end of it, my kids, you know?
So I, it's funny, we talk about mental health
awareness and how we all need to go get help,
but you know, we don't think about, not intentionally,
but we don't think about the other side, the
people on the other end of it, so I just think
that's so wonderful that you guys. take that
step to help the people in the families. Yeah,
one of our most attended in regular support groups
is our spouse and partner. So it's people living
with a spouse or partner that has mental illness.
It's amazing. It's just really powerful to be
able to have that connection with other people
that are going through the same thing as you.
Yeah, I was talking about this not long ago on
the show. I quit drinking in 2020 and I was told
by other friends that had quit drinking, like
you should think about going to AA. And like
mental health, for me there was a stigma around
that. I'm not going to, like, I don't need rehab,
I don't need AA, I quit, I'm good. They're like,
no, no, no, you're missing the point. It's just
being around other people who have been through
what you've been through. There's just tremendous
reward in that. Even if you're not, like, I know
I'm never gonna drink a sip of alcohol again.
You know, I'm lucky in that, you know, some people
don't, you know, they ride that line where they
worry about relapse. I'm not worried about going
back to it. So I thought, oh, I don't need AA.
No, it's more about like, oh wait, you had that
weird thought too? Or you had crazy sugar craving?
And it's just, it's a sense of community and
a sense of, hey, I'm not on this island by myself,
right? Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. And it's just,
that's absolutely wonderful. You guys completely
embody what this show is about. You know, we
started Good News York as a show that just sheds
positive light on every region of New York. Adirondacks,
Central New York, New York City. And, you know,
not all puppies in rainbows. You know, we have
fun and there's comedy. But we really want to
focus on the positive things. And this is just
about as positive as it gets. And, you know,
I'm so thankful for people like you guys, you
know, that do this for people. And especially
nowadays. I keep hearing that you guys mentioned
the Sophie Fund. Yeah. And I feel like we should
kind of talk about that real quick. Yeah. Daryl,
you started with the selfie fund, right? Through
Be Kind? So this is a funny story. So years ago,
Jackie got asked by a friend. They do an annual
cupcake contest, and they have judges, and everybody
is amazing. The cupcakes, you can't be a professional.
They're just regular people. Sure. Cupcake, it's
amazing. Amazing. Amazing. You're like, how do
people even think about doing that to a cupcake?
And I'm in. So I'm in. Years ago, I, whoever,
I forget, one of our friends was involved with
it and they needed judges. So they asked Jack,
who loves cupcakes, my wife, to judge. And coincidentally,
and this is my own personal thing, after going
to... What I went through, it's the first time
ever I was in public and I felt well. And there's
a picture of me sitting right in that area where
like she was judging the cupcakes. And I remember
when I see that picture and I go, oh my God,
that was like the first day in my life I felt
good. And I was like in public and not a mess.
Isn't that the best? It was. I did that picture.
But coincidentally, I didn't know what the Sophie
one was then. And she got asked to judge these
cupcakes. Years later, when we started and I
was looking at different things, I reached out
to, we were doing, we were making Christmas ornaments
for Be Kind of My Parents that are old, elderly.
Elderly, if you're listening, elder. Elder, old.
Caesar crafters. And so they'd make these ornaments.
So I reached out to Scott through my therapist,
Jeep. I talked to Jeep. And he knew Scott, so
I got Scott's info. Scott and his wife are the
directors of the Sophie Fund. And I reached out
to him about selling them, and he... We got talking,
I told my story, talked about Be Kind and everything,
and he was the one that said, would you be willing
to come and speak at the next Cupcake Eating
Contest? So that's where we met. No way. Yeah,
so the Sophie Fund's amazing. They do amazing
stuff. We, Be Kind, donates every year through
our sales and other stuff as well as Samantha
does. And we like to promote them as much as
we can. What is the Sophie Fund exactly? It's
a... Gentlemen in here? Yeah. So Scott's daughter,
Sophie, was a Cornell student and she died by
suicide. And he lives in Pennsylvania, but he
and his wife started the Sophie Fund to advocate
for better mental health, preventative care,
especially on the Cornell campus. And he got
really entrenched in, like, the Tompkins County
organizations, nonprofit organizations. And so
he started, like, the bullying. Team I would
attack task force right in Tompkins County and
like they raise a lot of money and donate to
Nonprofits that are doing mental health work
Naomi's on a task force with Sophie Fund, an
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and
Suicide Crisis, and we're doing a huge project
right now trying to get mental health education
into the local schools. So combined together,
we have like a bigger force than like if we were
just all trying to go individually. So Scott's
just like a champion in like... gathering everyone
together to try to make a real difference. Like,
he's a doer more than a talker, and he's just
doing incredible things in Tompkins County. It's
just absolutely wonderful. I can't thank you
guys enough for being here. Before we wrap, though,
I just want to prove that Daryl and I, we really
are like brothers. You can see right behind me,
we played in a band together. See, right on the
far right. Look how sexy you are there. The band
was the New York Rock. I mean... Technically,
it never really broke up. We're just kind of
done indefinitely right now. But I don't want
to say former band, but yeah, there's us. But
here's something people don't know. Before Darryl
was in the band, he was actually part of a Bee
Gees tribute band. Buddy, I found that in my
phone this morning. I don't remember what it's
from, but someone photoshopped you as Barry Gibb
or something. Yeah. I tried to find the one of
you in the tutu, and I couldn't find it. Did
you get the tutu dirt? No, I couldn't find that
either. And then real quick before we go, Harold
and I did go to the Metallica concert this past
weekend and we had such a funny observation,
so many funny observations. One being it's so
much different going as an adult because I had
this tremendous anxiety that I last time I went
to see Metallica was 20 years ago. I thought
there was going to be shirtless dudes sweating
and banging their head into me like it used to
be. And I looked around during the concert and
everybody, I'm like, oh, wait, I got older. And
so did that. Like the crowd was docile. I was
like, it's just so strange to see heavy metal
musicians and rappers age out. It's just you
never thought it was going to happen. But it
was a great time. It was a phenomenal show. And
yeah, it was great. I mean, obviously it was
funny because Mike and I. We used to joke, because
we'd go to Chicago or whatever, and we'd be excited
about playing in Chicago and Cleveland and everything.
We had great runs, but then we'd joke, and I'd
go, you know, I love playing, but it's car rides.
Yeah, that's the best part. Car rides were the
best. If we could have recorded our conversation,
well, we might be arrested. But riding in the
band van, man, that was the best. Well, listen,
I wish we had more time. I cannot thank you guys
enough. I'm definitely going to be hugging you.
Darryl Harrington from Be Kind, Ithaca. We've
got Sandra Sorensen from NAMI Finger Lakes, namifingerlakes
.org. And of course, Samantha Shoemaker from
Free Hugs, Ithaca. You can Google it, find them
all online. You guys embody what this show is
about. I love you so much. Thank you for your
time. Any last -minute plugs, anything coming
up, you want to plug? We are all going to be
at NAMI's third annual NAMI Walks on May 3rd.
Great. 3 o 'clock p .m. at Stewart Park. In Ithaca.
So you should come walk with us. I will be there.
You could wear a hug shirt and hug people. So
what we do is on the route, we have a tent, and
as everybody comes through... That's amazing.
You can hand out stickers. That's amazing. I
will, and I'll make sure I have all this info
and we'll throw it up on the screen and put it
in all our social media clips. Perfect. And we'll
definitely promote that. I absolutely love you
guys. Daryl, Sandra, Samantha. Man, keep doing
what you're doing. It's so important. All right,
and with that, we are going to head out for the
weekend, because this is the last show of the
week. It is draft day, okay? So in honor of draft
day, I have a little side project called The
K -Gun. My buddy and I record songs about the
Buffalo Bills, and we recorded and shot a music
video called Where Else? Marv's anthem if you're
a Bills fan you know what that means and we shot
the video at the home opener and It's just a
it's an anthem for Bills mafia, so I'm gonna
play that as we roll out of here God bless y
'all. Have a great weekend. We'll see you Monday
Mike Brindisi out isn't that what Brian Seacrest
says? Have a good weekend