Timmins raises Bell Let's Talk flag, reminding citizens to do a mental health check
The Bell Let's Talk flag is flying in front of municipal buildings on Algonquin Boulevard in Timmins.
Mayor Michelle Boileau said the city is using the Bell Let's Talk toolkit to encourage its employees to take part in activities that promote mental wellness.
Timmins mayor Michelle Boileau (centre), Paula Del Guidice (right), health and safety manager for the City of Timmins and Paul Jalbert (left), the executive director for Canadian Mental Health Association Cochrane-Temiskaming said raising the Bell Let's Talk flag reminds people that talking about mental health helps break down barriers. Jan. 25/23 (Lydia Chubak/CTV News Northern Ontario).
Boileau said the initiative has been well received and said it gives them a chance to take a moment to talk to their friends and colleagues about mental health.
"It’s something we’re happy and proud to do every year and it also gives us a chance to be a little bit of a leader to employers to the wider community to encourage the community to take on the Bell Let’s Talk activities and take part in these awareness activities," she said.
Officials with Canadian Mental Health Association Cochrane-Temiskaming said despite the services available to people, they are not always accessed.
"Even in 2023 there are still challenges walking through the door of a service provider. We don’t want that," said Pau Jalbert, the local CMHA executive director.
"This should be as easy as walking into a dentist’s office or going to the emergency department and these are the types events that help us break down those barriers."
The Bell Let's Talk flag will continue to fly throughout the week.
If you or someone you know is struggling, mental health support is available.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
One dead, six remain missing as police search for victims of fire in Old Montreal
One person has been confirmed dead and six people remain missing as police continue to search for victims after a fire swept through a building in Old Montreal on Thursday.

Woman suing Tim Hortons for $500K after hot tea spill left her 'disfigured'
An Ontario woman has launched a lawsuit seeking $500,000 from Tim Hortons after she suffered major burns from an alleged ‘superheated’ tea. The company has denied all allegations and said she was ‘the author of her own misfortune.'
5 Connecticut children dead after crash in New York
Five children from Connecticut, ranging in age from 8 to 17, were killed in a fiery early morning crash Sunday on a New York highway, police said.
Poilievre calling for national standardized test to license doctors, nurses trained outside of Canada
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for a national standardized testing process to be created in order to speed up the licensing process for doctors and nurses who are either immigrants or were trained abroad.
Trails of human bacteria from sneezing and coughing preserved on Mount Everest: study
Even at one of the tallest natural peaks on Earth, humans have left their mark in a trail of bacteria as researchers have found germs from coughing and sneezing that have been potentially preserved for centuries on Mount Everest.
Putin's world just got a lot smaller with the ICC's arrest warrant
President Vladimir Putin always relished his global outings, burnishing his image as one of the big guns running the world but with the International Criminal Court's war crimes charges against him, Putin's world just got smaller.
Possibility of Trump's arrest builds sympathy among his supporters
The possibility that Donald Trump may be charged for allegedly covering up hush money payments to a porn star during his 2016 campaign is garnering sympathy for the Republican former president, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu said on Sunday.
'Who, if not us, should stop them?': The stories of Ukrainian women on the front lines
A Ukrainian charity tells CTVNews.ca how women on the front lines of the war in Ukraine do not have proper equipment and are struggling with the realities of being in a conflict zone. Here are their stories.
North Korea: Latest missile simulated nuclear counterattack
North Korea said Monday it simulated a nuclear attack on South Korea with a ballistic missile launch over the weekend that was its fifth missile demonstration this month to protest the largest joint military exercises in years between the U.S. and South Korea.