KITCHENER -- Thursday is the 11th annual Bell Let's Talk Day and people and organizations across Waterloo Region have joined the conversation about mental health.
Bell donates five cents towards Canadian mental health programs for applicable texts, calls, tweets or TikTok videos using #BellLetsTalk. Every Bell Let’s Talk Day video view on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube also raises five cents each. There is also a Facebook frame and Snapchat filter.
Since Bell Let's Talk Day launched in 2011, it's raised more than $113 million for mental health initiatives and recorded more than 1.1 billion interactions.
“With COVID-19 affecting every aspect of our lives, Canadians everywhere are feeling the impact of the ongoing crisis on their mental health. Now more than ever, every action counts – and we invite you to make lending your voice to the Bell Let’s Talk Day conversation one of the actions you take for mental health today,” Mary Deacon, the Chair of Bell Let’s Talk, said.
Waterloo regional police and paramedics took to Twitter on Thursday to talk about the importance of mental health.
"We know that every action counts, not just today, but every day," WRPS Chief Bryan Larkin said in a video.
Region of Waterloo Public Health reminded people that managing stress is even more difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and provided resources for ways to manage that stress.
"People's resilience is at an all-time low," said Helen Fishburn, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington branch. "There's a lot of stress, worry and anxiety right now." She said they've had an increase in call volume and complexity.
"Every day is different, every call is different," said Monica van Adrichem, team lead for Here 24/7. "You're taking calls from doctor's offices, hospitals, schools, teachers, everything."
She said no one should hesitate to pick up the phone if they need help.
The CMHA is also seeing a shift when it comes to the stigma.
"There's an increased empathy and compassion in our community because people have really experienced, many for the first time, what anxiety and really deep sadness feels like," said Fishburn.
Municipal officials also shared messages, encouraging people to talk about mental health and support others who might be struggling.
The Grand River Hospital said it's Waterloo Region's largest provider of acute mental health and addictions services.
Other local hospitals said they're working to support mental health for the community and their staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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