Next Wednesday marks the tenth annual #BellLetsTalk Day, an initiative launched by Bell, one of Career Edge’s longest-standing employers. Bell will donate “5¢ for every applicable text, call, tweet, social media video view and use of our Facebook frame or Snapchat filter” on January 29th that includes the #BellLetsTalk hashtag.
In September 2010, Bell started a new conversation about mental health in Canada. The initiative created unprecedented dialogue about mental illness, engaging and opening discussion among millions of Canadians. The volume of interactions demonstrated a need for action, offering new ideas and hope. The initiative’s four pillars are: (1) anti-stigma, (2) care & access, (3) research, and (4) workplace health.
To date, the #BellLetsTalk campaign has generated more than one billion social hashtag interactions and donated over $100 million to mental health programs. The campaign has supported approximately 3.4 million Canadians with access to mental health services. Since the start of the campaign, 86 per cent of Canadians reported being more aware of mental health issues.
According to Bell, one in five Canadians will suffer from mental illness in their lifetime and two-thirds living with a mental illness won’t seek help for fear of stigma. Dr. Heather Stuart recommended five ways to help end the stigma: (1) language, (2) education, (3) kindness, (4) listening & asking, and (5) talking.
To learn more, visit https://letstalk.bell.ca/en/
To read a personal story on mental health from a Career Edge employee, check out https://www.careeredge.ca/blog/lets-talk-candice-leungs-story/