Cristina Lupoi | Contributor
Featured image: The 2017 Bell Let’s Talk campaign raised over $6.5 million through 131 million social media interactions. | Courtesy of Bell Canada
Every year since 2010, Bell Canada hosts a campaign with the primary goal of creating a conversation about mental health in Canada.
In 2012, 2.8 million Canadians over the age of 15 reported symptoms consistent with one or more mental health illnesses or substance use disorders, according to Statistics Canada.
Many who live with mental illnesses are not vocal about their conditions because of the stigma they fear they may face.
The Bell Let’s Talk campaign was created with these notions in mind, and aims to educate the public on the magnitude of the problem and how they can become active listeners and supporters.
Bell will donate 5 cents towards mental health initiatives for every text, tweet or Instagram post that includes the hashtag #BellLetsTalk and for every view of their official Facebook videos. People can also participate through Snapchat by using the Bell Let’s Talk geofilter.
All proceeds are donated to various relevant organizations within Canada.
York students give their thoughts on the mental health awareness campaign
“I feel like Bell Let’s Talk is more of a means to publicize than actually raising awareness. I had heard of a thing called Bell Let’s Talk but had no idea what it meant or wanted to achieve. The donation part might be legitimate but in my opinion, it isn’t effectively named. The aim of trends is to educate people who were unaware of the issue. The “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” effectively describes what it sets out to do, whilst also raising awareness. When you hear about it, you’re curious and want to find out what it is. When you hear Bell Let’s Talk, the first thing you think is that it’s probably another one of Bell’s events.” ? Samandeep Singh | 20 | Software Engineering
“It is important to realize that mental health is every bit as important as physical health. The isolation of mental illnesses from physical conditions like having the flu only serves to perpetuate the notion that people should be ashamed for wanting to care for their brain—their entire body’s command centre. Influential organizations should make further attempts to emulate the #BellLetsTalk campaign that fights to end the stigma while raising millions for important and necessary research.” ? Yun Lin | 21 | Human Rights and Equity Studies
“Bell Let’s Talk brings awareness to issues that people don’t take time to address in their daily lives. We become so engulfed in our schedules, sculpting that perfect life, that we become lost in our stress and anxieties. We forget to take care of ourselves and take a minute to reflect and acknowledge what causes the stress in our lives and what affects our mental health. Often we suffer in silence and become unknown to those around us. It is important to talk to someone. Make yourself heard and reach out for help. I think that the Bell Let’s Talk campaign helps drive these principles home.” ? Suman Dhillon | 21 | English and History
“Raising money for small organizations, or well-known organizations, doesn’t provide enough funding for it to make a positive impact. Focusing on one day does raise a type of awareness, but it just serves to promote Bell as a company. The marketing strategy and distribution could be managed [more efficiently] to provide a better mental health awareness day.” ? Chris Muradyan | 20 | Administrative Studies
