Saturday, July 12, 2025
HomeNewsFunding boosted for Bell Let's Talk initiative

Funding boosted for Bell Let’s Talk initiative

$100-million commitment made to high-profile Canadian mental health program

Published on

A $100M commitment over the next five years has been made to the well-known mental health awareness initiative, Bell Let’s Talk.

According to Mary Deacon, chair of the program, the purpose of Let’s Talk is to build a stigma-free environment in Canada around mental illness.

“Stigma is the reason that the majority of people with mental health issues don’t seek treatments,” she said. “Two thirds of people with mental health issues say the reason they don’t seek support and help is because they fear stigma — that is why it’s so important to our initiatives, because it is the single biggest barrier for people getting help.”

In Sept. 2010 when Bell Let’s Talk launched, the company made a $50M commitment for five years. However, Deacon believes that the program has more work to do.

The goal of the Bell Let’s Talk program

The mental health initiative promotes mental health based on four action pillars:
— Anti-stigma
— Care and access to help
— Research
— Best workplace best practices

“The research we shared at our press conference last week shows that progress is being made, but there’s a lot more work to be done — stigma remains a big issue, but also access to care.”

One of the most high profile aspects of the program is the participation of Canadian Olympian, Clara Hughes, who biked 11,000 km over 110 days in 2014 to get people talking about mental illness, as part of Clara’s Big Ride for Bell Let’s Talk.

Last year Hughes, a national spokesperson for the program, was also the famous face behind the annual Bell Let’s Talk Day,  which encourages Canadians to openly discuss, text and tweet about mental health issues.

Learn about Centennial College's School of Communications, Media, Arts and Design

Latest articles

Ti-Cats rout Argos as QB Mitchell shines on historic night

Hamilton Tiger-Cats roared to a 51-38 win over the host Toronto Argonauts on Friday...

Ti-Cats hand Argos fourth loss in five games

Bo Levi Mitchell threw for five touchdowns and passed a big career milestone as...

What does it mean to be trans and Canadian?

Canada is widely regarded as one of the safest places in the world to be transgender, but trans people say they still remain vigilant.

Young Canadians have a different view now of driving, instructor says

For generations, getting a driver’s license was seen as a rite of passage, a symbol of independence and adulthood.

More like this

Ti-Cats hand Argos fourth loss in five games

Bo Levi Mitchell threw for five touchdowns and passed a big career milestone as...

What does it mean to be trans and Canadian?

Canada is widely regarded as one of the safest places in the world to be transgender, but trans people say they still remain vigilant.

Young Canadians have a different view now of driving, instructor says

For generations, getting a driver’s license was seen as a rite of passage, a symbol of independence and adulthood.