Bell Let’s Talk Day

In Canada, one in five adults will suffer a mental disorder in their lifetime. This figure translates into 4.5 million people and another 1.5 million children and youth suffer from a diagnosable psychiatric disorder. The most common mental illnesses are anxiety disorders and depression as approximately 2.5 million Canadian adults or over 10% of the population 18 and older will have a depressive disorder.
Bell launched their Bell Let’s Talk Day initiative which has committed over $100 million to support a wide range of mental health organizations, large and small, from coast to coast to coast. Bell provides some startling statistics such as mental health problems and illnesses cost the Canadian economy at least $50 billion per year, in Canada only 1 out of 5 children who need mental health services receives them and 2 in 3 people suffer in silence as they fear judgement and rejection.
The Bell Let’s Talk Day initiative is built on the 4 action pillars of anti-stigma, care and access, research and workplace leadership, Bell Let’s Talk has partnered with more than 600 organizations to move Canada’s mental health forward. Approximately 450,000 people have already received mental health support through a Bell Let’s Talk funded program – 240,000 of them children and youth – 6,000 staff and volunteers have received additional training, and 1,000 Canadian military families have received mental health support.
Healthy Minds Canada has launched their own campaign leading up to the January 27th Bell Let’s Talk day. Ashley Plumtree, a Success Coach with Stepping Stones to Mental Health and Rocky View Schools and is also the Alberta Team Lead of Healthy Minds Canada. She explains, “In an effort to help raise awareness about, and to keep the conversation going all year long for, mental illness, Healthy Minds Canada has launched a one month long campaign in the lead up to Bell Let’s Talk Day to bring together some of the most active voices on social media so that those following the conversation know that there are organizations from coast to coast to coast that can offer help (through online tools, printed resources, sponsored events, etc.) throughout the year. Our goal is to leverage and amplify the online discussion about mental health throughout the month of January and beyond”.
Once again, Bell has pledged to donate 5 cents for every Tweet with the hashtag #BellLetsTalk, Facebook post with the special #BellLetsTalk image, and 5 cents for every text and phone call over the Bell network on Bell Let’s Talk Day – January 27, 2016 – the sixth year that Bell Let’s Talk Day is running.
Plumtree continues, “Individuals and organizations that would like to participate locally can go through me to be on the Alberta Team. Being on the Alberta Team is a very small commitment of 2 social media posts regarding mental health and we ask that they tag my organizations social media account and use the Bell Let’s Talk hashtag”.
In 2015, a record 122,150,772 tweets, texts, calls and shares came in on Bell Let’s Talk Day – and a new Bell donation for mental health of $6,107,538.60
Anyone wishing to join the Alberta Team of Healthy Minds Canada is asked to contact Ashley Plumtree at aplumtree@rockyview.ab.ca and don’t forget to join the conversation on January 27th by tweeting #BellLetsTalk Day!