Bell Let's Talk Day gave Canadians a reason to talk about mental health

MONTREAL - On February 8th, Clara Hughes led the national conversation to end the stigma around mental illness. 78,520,284 calls, texts and retweets were made by Canadians in every region and at 5¢ each, Bell is donating a total of $3,926,014.20 more to mental health programs.

The combined total of texts, long-distance calls and retweets was a 19% increase over the first Bell Let's Talk Day in 2011.

"Thank you Canada! By talking so openly about mental illness and its impact, you're letting family, friends, neighbours and colleagues who struggle with mental illness know they can talk about it and seek the help they may need," said Ms. Hughes, Canada's six-time Olympic medalist. "I've heard encouraging stories of hope and opportunity from so many people throughout the Bell Let's Talk Day campaign. Together, we've taken the conversation about mental health to a new level - it's a conversation that's not just changing lives, it's saving lives."

Bell Let's Talk Day invites all Canadians to help end the stigma around mental illness by talking openly about mental health issues. The reason that most people who suffer from mental illness do not seek help, stigma is the greatest challenge to moving Canadian mental health forward.

During the lead up to this year's Bell Let's Talk Day, Bell announced two new mental health partnerships. On February 1, Bell made a $2 million gift to the Douglas Mental Health University Institute in Montréal to establish the Douglas-Bell Canada Brain Bank. And on the eve of Bell Let's Talk Day in Kingston, the company announced a $1 million donation to Queen's University to establish the Bell Mental Health and Anti-stigma Research Chair, the first Chair of its kind in the world.

The Douglas and Queen's join the University of British Columbia, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), the Royal Ottawa Hospital, Hôpital Louis-H. Lafontaine, and other mental health organizations nationwide in the Bell Let's Talk initiative. In January, Bell also announced the Bell Let's Talk Community Fund for 2012, a $1-million annual fund that supports grassroots mental health organizations in every region in Canada.

TOP PHOTO: Clara Hughes, Bell Let's Talk national spokesperson. (courtesy of Bell Canada)

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