Kids Help Phone has launched its inaugural “End the Silence Day” campaign, aimed at encouraging young Indigenous boys and men to seek mental health support.
The annual initiative was developed following guidance from the Kids Help Phone Indigenous Advisory Council to address a stark discrepancy in mental health service usage among Indigenous youth.
“Last year, for example, 16 per cent of Indigenous people who reached out for support identified as male,” said Deanna Dunham, Director of Indigenous Initiatives at Kids Help Phone. “Yet, when we look at suicide rates across Canada, 75 per cent of suicides completed in Canada are by males. So we know that there’s this need for mental health support, yet we can see from our own numbers and from talking with communities and organizations that Indigenous boys and young men just aren’t reaching out for support.”
Dunham noted that traditional views surrounding masculinity often act as a significant barrier for young men seeking help.
“Boys seeing reaching out for support as a sign of weakness—we really have to combat that and really emphasize that reaching out is a sign of strength,” she said. “There’s no shame in crying, there’s no shame in expressing their feelings.”
The campaign portal provides direct access to 24/7 crisis support via text, message, or phone, along with professional counseling. It also features personal messages from Indigenous male content creators, short films, and articles.
In addition to direct youth support, the initiative acts as a resource hub for organizations and governments to access research and program ideas, with the goal of securing further funding for community-specific programming.
“End the Silence Day” will be marked annually, while resources on the campaign’s website will remain available and continue to expand year-round.
The website is available here – https://endthesilence.com/.
(Photo courtesy End the Silence)