‘It’s still to hard for people to get access’: Nova Scotia organizations receive mental health funding

Mary Deacon, Bell Let's Talk Chair, chats about some of the community mental health fund recipients in our region.

Multiple Nova Scotia organizations are collectively receiving $125,000 through the Bell Let’s Talk Community Mental Health Fund.

At an event in Bedford, N.S., Wednesday, Mary Deacon, chair of the Bell Let’s Talk Mental Health Initiative, announced five Nova Scotia community mental health organizations will receive funding.

“The organizations we focused on, there were five, including the Avalon Sexual Assault Centre, Brigadoon, Healthy Minds and also the YMCA,” said Deacon in an interview with Your Morning Atlantic’s Crystal Garrett.

Deacon says these organizations work to make mental health programs accessible for everyone.

“It is still too hard for people to get access to the help they need close to home to avoid escalation and ending up in a hospital,” she said.

On Bell Let’s Talk Day, Deacon is encouraging people to take a moment to focus on their mental health. She said she like to create art as a way of taking care of her own mental health.

“Whether it is meditating, breathing exercises, taking a hike in nature, digital detoxing, spending real time with family with shared activities and practising gratitude,” she said. “These are practical simple things we can do every day throughout the year to support our own mental wellbeing.”

Bell Let’s Talk is an annual corporate fundraiser by Bell Media, CTV News Atlantic’s parent company. This year’s Bell Let’s Talk Day takes place on Jan. 21.

Since 2010, Bell has invested more than $194 million in mental health initiatives across Canada.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page