Bell Let’s Talk 2023 | Join in and help change the conversation!

January 17, 2023 - Defence Stories

This year, Bell Let’s Talk Day is on Wednesday, January 25, and the Defence Team will be joining forces to help drive awareness and end the stigma around mental illness.

In Canada, one-in-two people struggling with their mental health are not getting the help they need. This year, the Bell Let’s Talk campaign theme is “Let’s create positive change” which aims to highlights the mental health crisis that Canadians are facing, and ways that we can all create meaningful change and take action, by doing one or more of the following:

• Choose a mental health organization to learn about or support
• Help a friend, family member, or colleague struggling with their mental health by learning how to support them
• Ask about how your workplace or community is creating change for mental health
• Nurture your own well-being by practicing and learning mental health strategies
• Get involved in a mental health initiative or organize an event to support mental health
• Engage in conversations about mental health to fight stigma
• Share your actions using #BellLetsTalk and help inspire others to join the movement to create positive change 

This year, in lieu of donating five cents per social media interaction, Bell has pledged to donate an additional $10 million towards their goal of $155 million. Through this, Canadians can focus on practical actions that can be taken to create positive change within the mental health space.

Looking to get involved? Here are some other ways that Defence Team members can come together on this 13^th annual Bell Let’s Talk Day to help to move mental health in Canada in the right direction:

A live, virtual and in-person panel discussion with the Joint Mental Health Champions

The Defence Team-wide event will be a one-hour, live panel discussion, including time for a question-and-answer session. This event will take place live and in-person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic and will also be simultaneously live-streamed to allow for participation of Defence Team members across the country. The panel discussion will encourage open discussion around mental health and the stigma attached to mental illness, while highlighting well-being resources that are available to Defence Team members.

Want to join this important conversation? Panelists will take questions from the in-person and virtual audience submitted via Slido during the event, or you can submit your questions here before January 20 (you are now leaving the Government of Canada website. For internal audiences only).

Speakers/Panelists:

• DND/CAF Joint Mental Health Champions
  • Bill Matthews, Deputy Minister of National Defence
  • Lieutenant-General Frances Allen, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff
  • Wanda Boudreau, President Federal Government Dockyard Chargehands Association
• Captain(Navy) Iain Beck, Director of Mental Health
• Candice Ross, Interim Director, Anti-Racism Implementation.

Date: January 25

Time: 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. EST

Location:

• Virtual (MS Stream)
  • Submit questions via Slido. Event code: #DNDBLT
• In-person: NHDQ (Carling), Building 5.

Note: The stream of the event can only be viewed by DND/CAF users via D365 accounts. The video will remain available for viewing on MS Streams after the event is finished.

Keep the conversation going:

Bell Let’s Talk day should just be the start of an ongoing, continuous conversation. It is important to check in on and support our colleagues, friends, families, and ourselves throughout the year. Using the resources learned through initiatives like Bell Let’s Talk, let’s push to implement them in our lives to better the mental health space and end the stigma.

Make use of available mental health supports and resources:

Over the last few years, our lives, including our mental health, have been impacted drastically. As a result of this, many resources and tools have been made available to support ourselves and those around us. Defence Team members have access to free virtual and in-person mental health resources, services, and supports.

Remember, you are not alone. If you, or anyone you know is struggling and don’t know where to turn, help is always available.

This Bell Let’s Talk Day – and everyday – the Defence Team joins forces to show our support for all those who live with mental illness and those taking action to help them.