Thank you Bell Let’s Talk for supporting CMHA work across BC

Canadians across the country will join together on January 25 on social media to text, talk and tweet about mental health for the 7th annual Bell Let’s Talk Day.

Bell’s annual campaign encourages people to “start a conversation” about mental health with friends, family and co-workers, recognizing that simply talking makes a significant impact in breaking down stigma and eliminating discrimination.

As Canada’s nation-wide leader and champion for mental health for almost 100 hundred years, CMHA wholly embraces opportunities such as this to talk openly about mental health. Every day CMHA BC helps British Columbians access the resources they need to maintain and improve mental health, build resilience and support recovery from mental illness and addiction.

We applaud Bell for continuing the conversation and helping to promote awareness of mental health issues.

We also want to say “thank you” for the direct support we have received from the Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund over the last five years. Donated funds have been awarded to CMHA branches in Vancouver, South Cariboo, Kelowna, Prince George and the Shuswap / Revelstoke region allowing us to enhance delivery of front-line services to individuals in these communities.

Here are just some of the projects that these donations have been used to assist:

• Development new materials to help BC youth gain life-long mental health skills, self- esteem and social support through the Living Life to the Full for Youth course
• Helping teens whose parents have a mental illness build coping skills, friendships and resilience through fun recreational group activities like snowboarding and swimming.
• Supporting the opening of HOpe Café in North Vancouver, which employs people with lived experience of mental illness as barista and to help build skills and decrease stigma
• Bringing the WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) mental illness recovery and self-management skills program to Kelowna
• Helping people with severe mental illness in Prince George to find safe and suitable housing and the skills and community connections to maintain it through the Resource Housing Outreach program
• Offering free mental health workshops to workplaces in The Cariboo
• Bringing mental health skills to Shuswap / Revelstoke through Living Life to the Full course

This year’s Let’s Talk campaign highlights the impact of mental illness on everyone, with spokespeople Clara Hughes, Howie Mandel, Michael Landsberg, and others speaking candidly about their own personal experiences with mental illness and recovery.

Join the conversation online today and Bell will donate 5 cents more to mental health initiatives for every:

• Text message, mobile and long distance call made by Bell Canada and Bell Aliant customers
• Tweet and Instagram post using #BellLetsTalk
• View of the Bell Let’s Talk Day video at Facebook.com/BellLetsTalk
• Use of the Bell Let’s Talk Snapchat geofilter