The Third Space Life Charity and its Third Space Cafe at the Landmark District were created with mental health in mind. So making an event out of Bell Let's Talk Day here just makes sense. 

When someone says "How are you doing?" the response is often "Fine." But are you really? Events like Bell Let's Talk day encourage people to have real conversations with each other about how we're doing. And to make people more comfortable sharing with others when they're actually struggling. 

"To end the stigma of mental illness by participating in the conversation," said Jody Pihl. She's the executive director of Third Space Life Charity, which was created to promote mental health in our community. "Promoting open and honest talk about your mental health," she said.

Photo Credit: NowMediaAt the Third Space Cafe, Chef Michael Buffett from the Fresh Start Kitchen, unveiled a delicious new salad that will be featured in the Cafe. 

"We've created the Let's Talk Salad," he said, "and a dollar from every sale is going to be donated to local metal health initiatives."

Lonni van Diest operates the cafe.

"Our first space is our home, our second space is your work and the third space is your community," he explained. And that's the kind of community that is encouraged at the cafe.  "A place where you can come and have coffee, break bread, have chats good or bad, talk about mental health, talk about hope," he said. 

Photo Credit: NowMedia

I've seen, over the last 20 years, the power of having that conversation," added Pihl. "There can be a lot of fear and shame and judgement. You have to be very courageous to be open and honest about your mental health." 

People still encounter judgement. And not everyone is comfortable talking about these things. But events like Bell Let's Talk Day are changing that, slowly.

"By people participating in an event like this and demonstrating outwardly to our community that it's okay to talk like that and they want to hear it and they're there to support, and they're not going to judge you," explained Pihl.  "That's a game changer for a lot of people."