Since its inauguration 11 years ago, Bell Let’s Talk has grown as an influential mental health awareness campaign in Canada, garnering more than a billion interactions and raising over $130 million for mental health initiatives.
Mary Deacon, chair of Bell Let’s Talk, reflects on the campaign and the importance of continuing to push mental health to the forefront in 2021, as Canada reels from the COVID-19 pandemic with mental health impacts that will be felt for years to come.
In a conversation ahead of today's Bell Let’s Talk Day, Thursday, Jan. 28, Deacon said “now, more than ever,” every action on mental health counts.
Bell Let’s Talk has been a highly visible and influential movement since it began in 2010. What does it mean for you to be still doing this work 11 years later?
My interest in mental health started out very personal, and it still is very personal. I lost my two brothers, David and Ted, to depression and suicide, and that certainly turned me into a real mental health advocate.
I worked for 10 years at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, running its foundation. I wasn’t a doctor, I wasn’t a researcher, I wasn’t a philanthropist, I wasn’t rich. But I was a fundraiser, and I thought, what would be more important for me to have meaning in my life than to use my skills to try and make a difference in this cause that, frankly, has had such a tragic and enduring impact on my family.
I was then invited to Bell to create what we now know of as Bell Let’s Talk, and over the years I got to talk to so many people and hear so many stories — stories of difficulty accessing services, or wait times that can sometimes be a year or more, and then tragedy, the loss of life through suicide. Through these stories, everyday I wake up and I am even more committed to making a difference.
Since the time you started this initiative with Bell, what has been your proudest achievement?
The thing I am most proud of is the organic growth. I am constantly surprised and delighted to see how people are spontaneously and organically taking action in their own lives, in their own community, in their workplaces and in schools, to try to make change.
We’ve got a long way to go, and certainly the pandemic has added a whole new level of complexity to the mental health issue. But this mental health conversation really has a life of its own in Canada. It’s really not about Bell, it’s about mental health and Canadians embracing the cause and making it a significant part of public discourse and a higher political priority as a result.
The global pandemic has added a strain on mental health issues in Canada. What is the theme of this year’s Bell Let’s Talk Day — the first since the pandemic — and why was that theme chosen?
When we began planning in April for what would be Bell Let’s Talk 2021, it was evident we needed to acknowledge the reality we’re all living in, and what the research is showing on the impact of the pandemic on people’s mental health.
Every person I talked to would inevitably talk about the struggle they were having with the social isolation, the lack of routine, the fear of the future. (This year’s theme) is simple, but very profound. It really is now more than ever. Now more than ever, mental health matters.
What we do now — and I feel very strongly about this — knowing what we know about the impact on mental health, will have a direct bearing on how well and how quickly we can recover from this pandemic.
Many have lauded Bell Let’s Talk’s efforts in advancing the mental health conversation in Canada. There has been some criticism as well, namely that large corporate campaigns can be sometimes out of touch with the experience of ordinary Canadians. How do you respond?
I was hired by Bell because of my mental health background to create what we now know as Bell Let’s Talk. I would not have gone to Bell if I did not believe there was truly authentic engagement, and I know that to be true from people in leadership positions at Bell back then and still today.
I think of what we’ve done as well — we’ve truly mobilized behind the mental health community to give them that voice and that platform.
There will always be criticism, as we live in a world that is so connected. I believe Bell Let’s Talk has played a positive role in helping to create change and to open up the (mental health) conversation.
It is a journey, but it’s one that we are committed to always improving.
Bell Let’s Talk was renewed for another five years in 2020. How do you envision the future of the movement, and what’s next?
After our 10th anniversary, we had a very clearly defined strategy of four pillars; anti-stigma, access, research and workplace. Together with the team, we looked at everything we’ve done and considered where we felt we had the greatest impact.
We’ve made refinements to our strategy, and have put much greater emphasis on access. There’s still lots to be done when it comes to stigma, but we know 84 per cent of Canadians feel much more comfortable talking about mental health than they did a decade ago. As that happens, so does the need for readily available, quality services.
The overarching vision, and it’s not something we can do on our own, is a Canada that is stigma-free where everyone can get the mental health support they need.
That is a worthy — lofty — but worthy vision.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Nadine Yousif is a federally funded Local Journalism Initiative reporter for the Toronto Star