Bell Let’s Talk Day 2025 Supports Youth Mental Health

On Wednesday January 22, 2025, students and staff across the Kamloops-Thompson School District are acknowledging Bell Let’s Talk Day—a day that has aimed to raise awareness and encourage conversation around mental health in Canada for over 15 years. This year, Bell Let’s Talk Day is supporting youth mental health organizations and raising awareness for youth mental health struggles.

Schools will be acknowledging Bell Let’s Talk Day in several ways, including school-wide announcements, class discussions about mental health, and projects to encourage conservation and awareness.

In the 2022-2027 District Strategic Plan, the District’s Human and Social Development priority supports teaching social emotional skills to support mental health and expanding opportunities for school staff, parents/caregivers, and students to increase their understanding of mental health literacy. The District is committed to ensuring consistent mental health support across the District, not just on Bell Let’s Talk Day but throughout the year.

Recently, District Principal of Inclusive Education, Deanna Brady, shared information on mental health initiatives in schools and the District’s Mental Health Strategic Plan at the Regular Public Board meeting on October 21, 2024. Watch the presentation here.

The District’s Mental Health Strategic Plan supports five key priority areas that ensure coordinated and consistent mental health support across the District:

• Collaborate, communicate, and build support
• Increase capacity for mental health promotion
• Encourage student voice
• Support staff well-being
• Reduce barriers and enhance supports

In the District, mental health promotion and learnings include Social Emotional Learning and Mental Health Literacy. By integrating social emotional learning and mental health literacy in the classroom, we create a more inclusive, supportive environment that prioritizes students' overall development and prepares them for success both inside and outside school.

A few of the mental health programs and initiatives supported by the District throughout the year include:

The Elementary Mental Health Literacy Resource (EMHLR) is a Canadian, evidence-based resource that follows the Mental Health Literacy High School Curriculum and was developed in direct response to the need for mental health skills and competencies to be taught to children at a younger age. EMHLR teaches positive coping strategies to build resilience and confidence, increase self awareness, and develop calming, thinking, and problem solving strategies.

After participating in this learning, one Grade 7 student shared, “I liked that we got to make our own coping kits to keep. I also like when we share about how stress shows up in our bodies. I didn't realize that what happens to me is happening to so many other kids in my class.”

Everyday Anxiety Strategies for Educators (EASE) is a program developed by the Ministry of Children and Family Development in collaboration with Anxiety Canada. EASE is a collection of evidence-informed anxiety prevention and resilience-building resources for use with students in Kindergarten to Grade 7. These standalone resources align with BC’s social-emotional learning curriculum and are designed to benefit all students by fitting into existing classroom routines and practices.

Worry Bugs/Worry Dragons are two programs developed to help children and youth manage day-to-day worries. Worry Bugs is a locally developed four-week program for children in Kindergarten or Grade 1 and their caregivers to learn strategies to manage anxiety. Worry Dragons is a six-week program offered in classrooms for children ages 8–11, created through BC Children’s Hospital to address anxiety issues through education and by learning various anxiety reduction tools.

Childhood and early adolescence are critical periods for developing skills and competencies fostering personal awareness, healthy relationships, ethical and responsible behaviours, and skills for life success. Together, on Bell Let’s Talk Day and throughout the year, we can all help support youth mental health.