St. John's walk raises $15K for Kids Help Phone

Dozens of people came together on Sunday for a walk through Bowring Park to raise money for the Kids Help Phone. (Arlette Lazarenko/CBC)

Dozens of people gathered in Bowring Park on Sunday for a walk to raise awareness and funds for youth mental health.

Sunday marked the 35th anniversary of the national organization, Kids Help Phone. Cities across Canada held similar walks with the aim of raising $4 million.

Among the crowd was Laetitia Satam, co-chair of the organization's youth council.

Satam says she started volunteering for the organization eight years ago when she was just 12 years old.

"They've really been there to help support me personally," she said.

Laetitia Satam, co-chair of the Kids Phone Help youth council, says she has been volunteering with the organization since she was 12 years old. She said they raised $15,000 in St. John's alone, with the goal of raising $4 million across the country through the walks. (Arlette Lazarenko/CBC)

The not-for-profit organization provides mental health support around the clock through phone and text. Satam said they had as many as 4.7 million interactions in the past year alone.

"I'm glad that we're able to have these conversations about mental health. I'm glad we're breaking the stigma.

The St. John's walk raised $15,000. The Bank of Montreal (BMO) was the main sponsor for the event and many employees showed up to show their support.

Dean Holloway, the regional vice president for BMO in the province, said it's an important cause to get behind.

"If you know kids need help, they need it right away," he said. "The kids help phone is one way where they can access support "

Rebecca Foote works as a crisis responder with the Kids Help Phone organization. She says access to mental health services is limited in the country, so services like the phone crisis line are essential. (Arlette Lazarenko/CBC)

Rebecca Foote, who was also walking in the crowd, volunteers on the front lines with Kids Help Phone as a crisis responder.

Foote says mental health services are essential, especially when being able to speak to a counselor or a psychologist could take years in some parts of Newfoundland and Labrador.

"Mental health services [are] really limited especially in rural Newfoundland. So it's really important to be able to have an opportunity to reach out at anytime online," she said.

"People need the support because the demand is just so crazy and I just want to be able to support those people."

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