kids help phone, td come together to fuel e-mental health innovation for youth in canada
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statistics from the kids help phone website highlight that 75 per cent of people that contact khp “share something they’ve never told anyone before.”
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kids help phone has challenged the status quo for youth mental health for decades, serving millions of canadians in innovative ways to stay ahead of the changing times and technologies.
as the digital landscape evolves, so too has khp, with an investment into e-mental health that began in 2023—impacting canadian youth more than four million times that year—and continues today through the khp innovation and applied research accelerator for youth mental health (acceleratorkhp).
the evolution of their e-mental health platform is getting a big boost with the announcement of a $600,000 donation from td bank group (td)—more specifically, the corporate citizenship arm of the bank, td ready commitment. the contribution will be used to continue to build innovative solutions and leverage advancement in artificial intelligence to address the complex mental health needs of youth in canada.
“td’s donation to support khp’s efforts to advance e-mental health innovation is truly transformative,” katherine hay, president and ceo of kids help phone, said in a media release.
“we are incredibly grateful for td’s support for the last 33 years. td’s most recent commitment highlights their dedication to creating real, positive change while embracing innovative tools at khp that will help increase access to more equitable wellness resources for even more youth. together, we’re helping to deliver a more personalized well-being experience for all youth, so they can continue to feel out loud.”
feel out loud is a mantra that kids help phone drives to encourage youth to talk to someone if they need help. statistics from their website highlight that 75 per cent of people that contact khp “share something they’ve never told anyone before.”
the way technology has changed the world in the last 30 years has also forced khp to adapt and find new ways to meet struggling canadian youth where they are—on any device or platform. the partnership with td ready commitment allows khp to accelerate that mission.
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“young people today are facing a complex world, and access to physical and mental health resources has never been more pressing,” robyn small, senior manager of philanthropy, sustainability, and corporate citizenship at td, said in the release.
“through the td ready commitment, we’re proud to continue our long-standing support for kids help phone’s youth-focused health initiatives. with this new funding, we’re helping advance their ai-powered conversation platform, designed to connect adolescents with essential mental health tools and resources as they navigate this critical stage of their development.”
kids help phone has been involved in more than 22 million service interactions across its platforms since 2020. it remains canada’s only free, confidential and multilingual e-mental health solution that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
visit their website to learn more about kids help phone and the acceleratorkhp.
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