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Bell today applauded the Government of Ontario’s announcement of new funding for children’s mental health and addiction issues with its reported three-year, $257-million commitment addressing a critical healthcare need affecting all of us.

“We congratulate the Ontario government for providing much-needed resources to address children’s mental health,” said Mary Deacon, Chair of the Bell Mental Health Initiative. “This strong commitment supports improved services and care for the most vulnerable members of our society. We encourage governments at every level across Canada to accelerate their own promotion of Canadian mental health.”

Mental illness is a pervasive but underfunded health care issue in Canada. At least 1 in 5 Canadians will experience a form of mental illness at some point in their lives - every one of us has a family member, friend or colleague who will be affected. But although mental illness represents 15% of Canada’s health care burden, it receives little more than 5% of health funding.

Bell has made a strong commitment of its own to mental health with the 5-year, $50-million Bell Mental Health Initiative, the largest program ever undertaken by a Canadian corporation in support of mental health. Focused on 4 pillars - anti-stigma, improved care and access, research and workplace leadership - Bell’s initiative was recently highlighted by the recent high-profile Bell Let’s Talk Day campaign.

To learn more about the Bell Mental Health Initiative, please visit www.bell.ca/letstalk.

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Read the rest of the story here …

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2011/30/c7709.html

Source: Canadian News Wire