REGINA — People across Canada are speaking about mental health as part of Bell’s Let’s Talk Day.
First started in 2010, the campaign raises awareness and combats stigma surrounding mental illness in Canada.
In those 16 years, Lin Carr, perinatal health co-ordinator with Saskatchewan Perinatal Health Network (formerly Regina Perinatal Health Network), said those conversations are opening the door for parents.
“When I had kids, eight, 10 years ago, these topics weren’t as relevant.”
As a mother, Carr said parents can face societal pressure.
“People will experience things like depression, anxiety, OCD, prenatally or postpartum. And those experiences feel really isolating because, for a long time, people weren't talking about them.”
To help parents, the network offers free peer support services.
“The overall goal is just to get parents connected to others that might be experiencing similar challenges, hear some other lived experiences and just be in a safe space to talk about their mental health.”
By having the campaign yearly, Carr said it helps parents discover mental health programs.
“Being able to promote these things on a more national level, it does really help kind of break down those barriers of even knowing what resources are out there.”
“The more parents become aware of them, the more comfortable they feel accessing them,” she added.
Bell’s Let’s Talk also supported Saskatchewan Perinatal Health Network with a $20,000 grant in 2022 as part of their yearly grant recipient program.
Carr said the money ensured the programming the network offered remained free.
“From that time, we were able to grow from one support group a week to today. We now have at least one connection group or drop-in space Monday to Friday,” noted Carr.
In 2024, the network served 150 clients, while 2025 saw 170 people.
“We're definitely trying to get the word out there and trying to grow the programming and trying to connect with public health offices so that we can really bridge those service gaps.”
The network is hopeful to continue expanding mental health across the province with in-person services.
