“Canadians talked like never before” was the general message Bell Canada gave after the success of their annual Bell Let’s Talk Day.. On February 8th, over 96, 000, 000 tweets, Facebook shares, texts and phone calls were made in order to fund Bell’s donation program.

Over 4 million dollars was raised in order to help mental health programs across the country. This is not the first time this event has transpired and hopes to be even bigger next year. Last year was not nearly as widespread as this year’s event was. Bell Canada states that ‘an unprecedented national conversation about mental health’ came as a result of their day to raise awareness.

1 in 5 Canadians will experience a form of mental illness somewhere in their life. Bell’s Let’s Talk Day sparked many individuals and groups nationwide to join in the discussion on mental health. The success of the event shows that word travels fast and that people joining together have a chance to make a difference.

In both Brantford and Waterloo, ‘Let’s Talk Day’ was advertised on the headlines of the website.

“We are so thankful to Bell for supporting peer initiatives at Laurier,” said Adrienne Luft, a part of Laurier’s student support team for mental health.

Luft hopes that events like this will help students who may be struggling to seek out support.

“We hope that these events help students to feel safer reaching out when they are having a difficult time,” said Luft.

The university encourages students to express what is going on in their lives instead of struggling to deal with it on their own that is what these health services are here to provide. There is no shame in looking for support.