- Bell to give $10 million towards
mental health in 2025, bringing total Bell Let's Talk investment to
$184 million since 2010
- Bell Let's Talk Day on January 22,
2025 to feature text-to-donate campaign in support of six
youth mental health providers
- Bell to match Canadians' donations by text on Bell Let's Talk
Day up to $1 million
- Youth mental health in decline according to new Mental Health
Research Canada report
MONTRÉAL, Oct. 10,
2024 /CNW/ - As a new comprehensive national report
released today by Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC) shows there
is a growing mental health crisis among young Canadians, Bell
announced it will prioritize youth mental health on Bell Let's Talk
Day (January 22, 2025) and will
launch a text-to-donate campaign with 100% of the funds raised
going to six youth mental health providers: Integrated Youth
Services, Jack.org, Kids Help Phone, National Association of
Friendship Centres, Strongest Families Institute and Youth In Mind
Foundation.
On Bell Let's Talk Day, Canadians can give $5 by text with Bell matching all donations up to
a total of $1 million, as part of
Bell's $10 million mental health
commitment in 2025.
Today on World Mental Health Day, Bell unveiled MHRC's new
report on youth mental health at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). A
Generation At Risk: The State of Youth Mental Health in
Canada is the most recent
comprehensive report of its kind, developed in collaboration with
youth mental health providers, and featuring all-Canadian data and
insights.
The report outlines recommendations and evidence-based calls to
action for improvements in three key areas including: prevention
and dedication, service quality, and access to mental health
services.
MHRC Report – Key Statistics:
- Suicide is the second leading cause of death: Suicide
remains a leading cause of death among young people in Canada, accounting for 21% of deaths; 24% of
youth (16-24) report suicidal ideation.
- Priority youth populations: 2SLGBTQI+ communities,
newcomers, Black and Indigenous youth have higher rates of poor
mental health and experience barriers to accessing care.
- Early onset of mental health conditions: Youth are
considered a vulnerable population with approximately 66% to 75% of
mental health issues having an onset before the age of 24.
- Self-stigma: While young people are generally
comfortable discussing mental health as a broad topic, they are
less comfortable discussing their own mental health
conditions.
- Unmet mental health needs: Approximately 1.25 million
youth in Canada need mental health
supports every year. Nearly 3 in 5 (57%) of those youth are not
getting the help they need.
- Contributing factors: Mental health issues increased
among youth before the pandemic and have worsened since then due to
a combination of social disconnection, excessive screen time (6+
hours daily) and socio-economic challenges. In addition, 50% of
youth (18-34) feel climate change negatively impacts their mental
health.
Quotes
"As we mark World Mental Health Day, I am pleased to announce a
$10 million commitment in 2025 to
support Canadian mental health initiatives and help address the
mental health crisis among young people. We have made great
progress since we launched Bell Let's Talk in 2010, and we are
proud to continue supporting organizations that are making a
difference across Canada."
- Mirko Bibic, President and CEO,
Bell Canada and BCE
"Youth urgently need access to more services to help them manage
with their declining mental health. Bell Let's Talk will continue
to support community-based organizations that are helping youth,
and everyone, have access to mental health services and supports so
people can thrive and achieve their full potential."
- Mary Deacon, Chair of Bell
Let's Talk
"We have seen a generational shift in youth embracing the
importance of mental health. We have also seen a continuing decline
in mental health indicators for youth. Both the opportunity and the
need to address mental health in this population have never been
higher. If we can intervene early with diagnosis and
treatment, we can give our children the best opportunity for
mentally healthy lives."
- Michael Cooper, Vice President,
Mental Health Research Canada
The Bell Let's Talk Day text-to-donate campaign is made possible
with the support of The Mobile Giving Foundation Canada (MGFC).
MGFC is a registered charity that enables text message donations to
be charged to donors' monthly cellphone bills as tax-exempt
charitable gifts where 100% of donations are remitted to the
intended charities. MGFC is operated by the Canadian
Telecommunications Association.
About Bell Let's Talk
The largest-ever corporate
commitment to mental health in Canada, Bell Let's Talk is
focused on 4 key action pillars – Anti-stigma, Care and Access,
Research and Workplace Leadership – and is a driver of Bell
for Better. Since its launch in 2010, Bell Let's Talk has partnered
with more than 1,500 organizations providing mental health services
throughout Canada, including hospitals, universities, local
community service providers and other care and research
organizations. To learn more, please
visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.
Media inquiries:
media@bell.ca
@Bell_LetsTalk
@Bell_News
SOURCE Bell Canada