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Bell Let's Talk Day
Bell Let's Talk Day is a campaign that raises awareness about mental health issues across Canada. Bell Canada, Canada's largest media company, decided to devote an entire day to the discussion of mental health. It was created as an effort to motivate the public to openly engage in conversation about mental health and break down barriers associated with the issue. The initiative is to improve awareness and improve acceptance. Around the world, hundreds of millions of people are affected by mental illness and it is expected that by the year 2020, it will be the leading cause of disability on the planet. Through Bell's Community Fund, the company provides grants of $5,000 to $50,000 to organizations, hospitals, and agencies that place emphasis and focus attention on refining and advancing access to mental health care. Bell contributes an additional 5¢ for every text message sent by a Bell or Bell Alliant customer, phone call or long-distance call made by a Bell or Bell Alliant customer, tweet or retweet using #BellLetsTalk, and Facebook share of the Bell Let's Talk image. Bell has committed over $62 million to fund a wide range of mental health organizations of all sizes around Canada. The initiative is based on four pillars: anti-stigma, care and access, research, and workplace best practices.

Clara Hughes
Clara Hughes is the most prominent and well-known spokesperson for the campaign. She is a Canadian athlete who has won multiple medals at both the Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics. Hughes is famously known for her openness about her struggles with mental health issues and relates to others by sharing her story through various channels of communication. She strives to fight problems surrounding stigma of mental health issues. To raise awareness about mental health, Clara has initiated annual bike rides across Canada. She completed a 110 day, 11,000 kilometre bike ride across Canada.

Stefie Shock
Stefie Shock, another spokesperson for Bell Let's Talk, is a French-Canadian singer, musician, producer, and DJ. He suffers from anxiety and is also a spokesperson for the Revivre Centre, which assists those who suffer from anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorders. He speaks openly and publicly about his mental illness and reaches his message out to a broad audience of women and men. Shock delivers strong messages about the issue by disputing and defying the taboos and prejudices that are typically associated with mental illness.

Michael Mpambara
Michel Mpambara is a stand-up comedian who immigrated to Quebec from Rwanda when he was just a teen. He is a spokesperson for Bell Let’s Talk, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2005.

Seamus O'Regan
Seamus O’Regan is the well-known former co-host of Canada’s No.1 national morning show, CTV’s Canada AM. He is a proud supporter and spokesperson for Bell’s Let’s Talk Day.

Anti-Stigma
Stigma is a result of society's misunderstandings about the various mental disorders. Mental illness occurs not only in the complications arising in the symptoms of the disorders, but in difficulties through society’s responses. It is increasingly important to actively fight stigma and its consequences. Battling stigma is a crucial challenge for those who suffer from mental illness. Sufferers must face the mental illness itself, but also the humiliation and disgrace that often is attached to the issue. There can be detrimental effects on self-esteem, quality of life, and treatment-seeking attached to social stigma of mental health. The goal of many anti-stigma campaigns is to correct these misconceptions and redirect the focus of mental health towards encouraging acceptance.

Care & Access
The care & access initiative works to address the issue surrounding the lack of access to programs in communities. Only 1/3 of those who require treatment in Canada will receive it, and this is often due to either the stigma attached or the lack of access in their community. Bell supports and partners with primary health care establishments across the country including grassroots organizations, local hospitals, and universities in efforts to help provide support services to Canadians.

Workplace Health
Bell is committed to their workplace health initiative by leading by example in their own workplace and is an early adopter of the voluntary Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. This includes enhanced and easy access to mental health information for Bell team members, including seminars and other learning events throughout the year, and advanced return-to-work programs. All Bell senior leaders and managers are taking part in new training and information programs. Investing in workplace health provides many benefits to organizations such as motivated workforces, higher employee morale, reduced absenteeism, amplified efficiency, and reduced worker and welfare problems.

Research
Without adequate funding, the groundbreaking research that is needed to find cures and explore treatment options will not be able to occur. Bell supports funding of new chairs, fellowships, and project grants. Bell also supports research into understanding and treatment with investments in cutting-edge research programs at universities, hospitals, and other institutions Canada-wide.