You would have to live under a rock not to know that today is #BellLetsTalk mental health day.
It is wonderful that Bell is putting money where its mouth is. So far, since 2010 when Bell started Let’s Talk, $86.5 million has been donated to mental health initiatives across Canada. 492, 058 youth have been reached through Let’s Talk programs and 212,260 individuals have been supported through technology-based mental health programs.
Furthermore, 4 out of 5 Canadians reported that they are more aware of mental health issues since Bell Let’s Talk began. While it helps to have celebrities talk about their struggles and participate in #BellLetsTalk, (Thank you Clara Hughes, thank you Howie Mendel…) this is really a grassroots campaign that has been hugely successful.
That is all good news. The more people feel free to open up about their struggles or the struggles of their loved ones the better. The more everyone feels safe to talk about their issues the better.
To be brutally honest, I was cynical about Let’s Talk. I was cynical about this whole thing when it all started. I thought way to go Bell trying to capitalize on people’s misery. Way to go trying to look like the corporate superhero without doing anything concrete to help people. Gimmick. Gimmick. Gimmick I thought.
Well, I was wrong. They have invested and they keep on investing and the infrastructure is there to ensure their program funding is well thought through and invested where it is needed. They have advisory board of experts for each province to figure out how to spend their money. They have a four-pillar strategy for Let’s Talk: Anti-Stigma (Let’s Talk Day), investment in care and access, research and workplace health. It is wonderful.
As I write this, over 28,250,000 hits have been counted for #BellLetsTalk. That is astounding. At 5 cents a hit, the money will be rolling in for mental health.
Keep up the conversation. To do our part, Jacob and I participated in a video with the Honourable Michael Wilson, Chair of the Mental Health Commission of Canada and MP James Maloney, to talk about youth mental health. I include the youtube link as part of the contribution to the discussion today. While every day should be a day to talk about mental health, thank you Bell for what you are doing to raise money. There is no question this is one of the largest mental health fundraisers of the year.
Now let’s work on wait times for mental health care. There is a lot to do on that one… but that’s another blog. Today, let’s celebrate the corporate contributions and the grassroots movement of people united in a great cause.
And for all of you who suffer, you are not alone. You really are not. #BellLetsTalk
