With mental health services seeing a sharp increase in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Bell Let’s Talk day is more important than ever.
Bell Let’s Talk day is an annual Canadian mental health awareness day driven by the giant communications company since 2011. Money is raised in a variety of ways, but mainly through social media interactions typically using the hashtag #BellLetsTalk or sending text messages or making phone calls for Bell mobile clients.
The money raised, just under $7.8 million in 2020, is then redirected back into Canadian mental health services.
One local mental health worker has had experience with Bell Let’s Talk. Sandie Sidsworth, current executive director of the Enrichment Centre for Mental Health in Belleville, tells Quinte News when it first kicked off in 2011, the local chapter of the Canadian Mental Health Association was granted $25,000 by way of Bell Let’s Talk day.
Now, having worked through almost a calendar year of the COVID-19 pandemic, she says that the demand for mental health services are up locally.
“The issue is right now I’m beginning to see that people have COVID fatigue and burnout, and people who have enjoyed relatively strong mental health are being impacted.”
She says that while COVID-19 restrictions have made it even more difficult to serve the same number of people as before, The Enrichment Centre for Mental Health is still serving approximately 130 people per week.
Sidsworth highlighted the importance of Bell Let’s Talk day.
“I think the wonderful thing that happens when you have an event like this yearly, it creates the awareness and that’s so important. I can tell you from the perspective of doing part-front line and part-management, that the call volumes are incredible.”
Bell Let’s Talk day is on Thursday, January 28, 2021. To see the full list of ways to help raise money, see the Bell Let’s Talk day website.
