Mayor of Buffalo Says City Is Staying United After Damar Hamlin Injury: 'We Are a Strong Community'

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In the face of adversity, the city of Buffalo stays united.

In the past year, Buffalo has dealt with a mass shooting, winter storms in both November and December with the latter having killed dozens and most recently, the cardiac arrest of Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin in the middle of a game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

While devastation has struck Buffalo repeatedly, Mayor Byron Brown tells PEOPLE that "during times of tragedy, times of difficulty, the people of Buffalo look for ways to help each other, to look out for each other, to lift each other up and get through it."

"We saw that after the 5/14 shooting, after the November historic storm, after the blizzard in December of 2022 and we're seeing it again with Damar Hamlin and his tragic injury on the field."

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For Brown and the city of Buffalo, the 24-year-old Hamlin's cardiac arrest was "gut-wrenching" to see.

"I was watching it at home with my wife and son, and we watched him make the tackle, watched him get up and then fall backward," Brown says. He continues, "The effect on the community was one of shock, it was an outpouring of support like a member of your family was going through this."

The Buffalo Bills hold a special place in the hearts of Buffalo residents. Long the lovable losers, who went 17 years without making the playoffs from 2000-2016, their fans never wavered and are now enjoying the team's success — and hoping for that first Super Bowl win.

"The Bills in many ways are emblematic of the city. Tough, resilient, sometimes down, but never out. They keep going," Brown tells PEOPLE. He adds, "The players are very active in the community. They're visible, they give back to the community. In fact, Damar Hamlin and I go to the same barbershop."

The city of Buffalo is supporting Hamlin in many ways, whether it be lighting City Hall and the Niagara Falls Buffalo Bills colors, or donating to Hamlin's Chasing M's Foundation community toy drive, which now has raised more than $7 million. Other Buffalo sports teams are also rallying behind Hamlin, including the Buffalo Sabres, who showed up to their game against the Washington Capitals this past Wednesday wearing "Love For 3" shirts. After winning the game 4-3 in overtime, the Sabres tweeted: "For Buffalo. For number 3."

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"I have a deep love for the city, and a deep love for the people of this city," Brown says about the response the city has had to Hamlin's injury. He continues, "When you see how people come together like this in the best of ways, in the most difficult of times, it just makes you love your community and the people in it that much more."

#BuffaloStrong is being used on social media to unite the community and show how much they have already, and are capable of, overcoming. For Brown, #BuffaloStrong "embodies the fact that Buffalo is a community of strong people, resilient people."

Brown tells PEOPLE, "We saw after 5/14 people took to the streets on Jefferson Avenue to uplift the community. In the blizzard of 2022, there were literally hundreds of acts of kindness, whether it be cooking and delivering meals or welcoming people into their homes."

He adds, "In every case of challenge, of tragedy or just small situations, the community comes out and rallies — lifting people up and helping them. Buffalo is known as the City of Good Neighbors, and the desire to help is something that is very present in this community."

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When it comes to moving forward, "We want to get back to a path of significant progress that reaches every neighborhood, that reaches every family," Mayor Brown tells PEOPLE. He adds, "In the aftermath of tragedy and difficulty and challenge, we want to build this city back better and stronger than ever before. We want Buffalo to be looked at as a place of hope and opportunity for every single resident."

In the meantime, as the city of Buffalo recovers and supports Hamiln, Mayor Brown knows one thing for certain; the community will continue to take care of one another. "That is what the people of Buffalo do. They pull together, they support each other, they lift each other up and look for ways that they can be helpful."