Wednesday is Bell Let's Talk Day.
As part of raising awareness for mental health, Bell, the parent company of AM800, will donate 5¢ for every applicable text, call, tweet, social media video view and use of the Bell Let's Talk Day Facebook frame or Snapchat filter.
In Windsor, Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare is helping to lead the effort when it comes to treating mental health.
DJ MacNeil is a Clinical Practice Manager for in-patient specialized mental health at Hotel-Dieu. He says the organization services people with serious and persistent mental illness.
"Illness like schizophrenia or bipolar mood disorder, but having said that, it kind of varies still based on certain clients," says MacNeil. "The common theme is there is a severe impairment in how someone is functioning on a day-to-day basis."
MacNeil says there has been a big change in how mental health services are offered.
"Before, it was very custodial, people just kind of spent a lot of time in the institution and now it's moving to a much more person friendly, person centred way of delivering the service," says MacNeil. "So I mean, that's something that people tend to have a more positive experience in a facility like this now-a-days."
MacNeil says treatment is unique based on individual needs.
"Even if two or three people have the same disorder, it needs to be treated very customized to that person and their unique needs and what their lifestyle is like. We have really shifted away from kind of cookie cutter approaches and now it's very individualized," says MacNeil.
The full interview with DJ MacNeil can be heard on The Afternoon News on Wednesday at 5:20pm.
Last year's Bell Lets Talk Day raised $6,919,199.75 for Canadian mental health, bringing the total since 2011 to $93,423,628.80.
— with files from AM800's Patty Handysides