Members of the community came together to show their support for local mental health initiatives during Bruce Power's fourth annual Break the Silence social media campaign.

In a Bruce Power media release, by sharing the hashtag #BreakTheSilence19 thousands of times on Twitter and Facebook, people from across Canada showed their support for people who live with mental health issues by starting the conversation with their friends and family.

In turn, Bruce Power donated more than $120,000 to local mental health initiatives that will support community members who live with mental illnesses including $40,000 to the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Grey Bruce branch for its Friends and Neighbours Club, Men’s Group, Ride Don’t Hide event and other community programs; $25,000 to the Westover Treatment Centre’s Recovery Support Program, which helps people overcome addiction and other issues; $25,000 to mentallyfit, a movement aimed at presenting hope, education and a safe place for people struggling with mental illness; $20,000 to the Grey Bruce Health Unit for the Youth Mental Health and Addiction Champion program and $11,000 to the We Care SHARE event which aims to create greater awareness about youth mental health.

“Through this campaign, our community rallied together to show their support to those living with mental health issues or illness,” said Cathy Sprague, Bruce Power’s Executive Vice President, Human Resources. “Though our social media campaign is just one day, it’s our hope people will break the silence about mental health every day.”

The social media awareness campaign saw an estimated 25,297 social media engagements, including tweets sent with the #BreakTheSilence19 hashtag, likes and shares on the Break the Silence video on Bruce Power’s Facebook page and views and likes on the Break the Silence video on Bruce Power’s Instagram and LinkedIn accounts.