Bell Let’s Talk: Campaigns in Ottawa aiming to save lives, improve mental health

Michelle Crogie is the Executive Director of PLEO and she joined us this morning to tell us what that support means to an organization like hers.

Wednesday is Bell Let’s Talk day, marking 16 years of the mental health initiative.

This year, Bell is giving $10 million toward Canadian mental health.

In Ottawa, mental health organizations like PLEO, the Parents’ Lifelines of Eastern Ontario, are marking the day.

• Mental health in Ottawa: How to find help

Executive Director Michelle Crogie says the need for mental health supports for parents and children is growing.

“We have helped thousands of people in the region,” she told CTV Your Morning Ottawa. “From 2023 to 2025, we’ve had a 45 per cent increase in call volume… so the need is huge right now.”

PLEO is a non-profit family peer support organization for parents whose children up to age 25 are facing mental health challenges.

“We see the whole range,” said Crogie. “We have parents who call us with little ones — two and three — people don’t think about early mental health but that’s very real. Of course, a lot of youth issues.”

Crogie says Bell Let’s Talk has been vital to supporting PLEO’s suicide prevention programs.

“We also have a program called youth-nominated support team, where we support parents who have youth who’ve had suicide attempts,” she said. “So, these funds help to train our staff, they help to run programs, and they’re so important to us and the work we do.”

This year’s Bell Let’s Talk campaign is about “taking a moment for mental health,” encouraging Canadians to pause, reflect, and prioritize mental health.

“Really try to give yourself that time and really try to connect with people,” said Crogie. “It doesn’t need to be an isolating thing. Sometimes it feels very isolating, but we encourage families to reach out. Reach out to PLEO, reach out to a friend, a neighbour. It’s very important to stay connected and talk and take those moments for yourself to breathe.”

Live Loud Live

A new Crave documentary, Live Loud Live: A Bell Let’s Talk Special, comes following a benefit concert in November in support of Matthew Perry House, an organization that aims to provide a supportive recovery community for people with substance use challenges, starting with a site in Ottawa, where the late actor grew up.

His sister, Caitlin Morrison, is the executive director of Matthew Perry House, and joined CTV Your Morning Ottawa from Toronto to discuss the documentary and Perry’s enduring legacy.

“It was important for us because everything we do is about Matthew. Music was his love language, his therapy. Just about everything for him. There was a soundtrack to his life, to our lives together, and it made sense to bring music into it,” she said. “What ended up coming together was just this incredible expression of artists and passion and like a really accessible thing where you feel like the people who are kind of idols to you, the people who you think are just immune to everything, they’re getting on stage, they’re singing a song, but they’re talking about the things that matter to them and you realize that the things you go through, other people go through it too, and it’s okay to find an outlet for that. It was really nice. It makes me cry a little bit.”

Morrison said Matthew Perry House aims to solve a critical gap in addiction recovery. Post-treatment recovery is often forgotten, she said.

“Going into treatment and escaping from your life for a moment and finding a second of sobriety is all very well and good, but the brain still takes a long time to heal, the life that has been impacted by substance use is still very much chaotic and has a lot of broken pieces and a lot of relationships that need to be fixed,” she said. “To be really successful in the longer term, to find a really glorious life after substance use and to not feel the need to go back to it as your only source of comfort, figuring out how to address those lives, to rebuild, to get to a place where you feel you can be content in the life that you’re in is something that is forgotten on the recovery journey. We want it to be remembered, and we want everyone to have access to it.”

Morrison and other dignitaries broke ground on the Matthew Perry House project last May, on Carling Avenue.

Morrison said she’s proud to carry on Perry’s legacy of helping others.

“It is the greatest honour of my life to be a small part of carrying it forward,” she explained. “The thing that made me proudest of him was watching him share his story and try to make other people feel better about sharing their stories and trying to make sure people knew they weren’t being weak if they asked for help, they were being incredibly brave. I know that that helped a lot of people, and I just want to keep that going. I want to speak for him and say it’s okay, it’s going to get better. If you raise your hand today, the rest of your days are going to be better than they would if you don’t.”

Live Loud Live was held on Nov. 14, 2025, in Toronto, and featured music from Serena Ryder, City and Colour, Billy Talent, Royal Wood, Amy Millan from Stars, and members of Sum 41, Broken Social Scene, Skydiggers, and Moist. Special guest Hank Azaria — the voice of many Simpsons characters and long-time friend of Matthew Perry — also led his EZ Street Band in a Bruce Springsteen tribute.

Operation Lifesaver Canada

A new campaign to bring rail-related incidents to zero has been launched by Operation Lifesaver Canada.

National Director Chris Day told CTV Your Morning Ottawa that there has been an increase in people walking onto railway tracks, often with fatal results.

“The mental health crisis that we’re seeing in Canada is playing out in attempts and rail suicides and we all have a role to play in getting to zero,” he said.

Day said as of the end of last year, rail-related incidents are up 24 per cent over the five-year historical average, fatalities are up 10 per cent, and serious injuries are up 41 per cent.

“Our message in this campaign is to reach out. If you are in crisis, if you are having suicidal thoughts, please reach out to loved ones, to family, to our partners at 9-8-8 — trained professionals — there’s always someone there to listen. Just reaching out today can make tomorrow better,” he said.

The campaign includes digital ads and billboards in some particular “hot spots,” Day said.

“We’re trying to get people’s attention to say take a beat, call the number 9-8-8. It’s a simple call, there’s someone on the other end of the line, talk it out. That simple act can save lives,” he said. “It’s 24/7/365, and they’re wonderful partners in our campaign to save lives.”

Other resources:

Mental Health Crisis Line

• 613-722-6914
• 1-866-996-0991

Distress Centre of Ottawa

• 613-238-3311
• 1-866-996-0991

9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline

• Call or text: 988

Kids Help Phone

• Call 1-800-668-6868
• Text #686868

Youth Services Bureau

• 613-260-2360

Tel-Aide Outaouais

• Ottawa: 613-741-6433
• Gatineau: 819-775-3223

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