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5 years later: Turning the same age my big brother was when he died on the job
August 2018 will be five years since my big brother Kris was killed in an industrial accident while at work. He was instructed to enter a tank that had not been properly cleaned, to remove a baffle; a device used to restrain the flow of a fluid, liquid or gas. The baffle was double-walled with diesel fumes trapped inside. It’s at that moment, an explosion occurred and Kris was fatally injured.
WorkplaceNL: helping to grow awareness of support available after a workplace tragedy
Partners and Fundraising: Every year, more families across Canada find their way to Threads of Life when they need support coping with a work-related fatality, serious injury or disease. Our wish is that every person who could benefit from Threads of Life programs knows how to find that help. And thanks to partners like WorkplaceNL, that wish is coming true.
Volunteer profile: Johanna LeRoux
It didn’t take long for Johanna LeRoux to decide she was going to be all-in with Threads of Life. She was attending her first family forum, and at the end, there was a workshop about volunteer opportunities. “I asked for all the information,” Johanna says....
Teams meet the Steps for Life challenge!
This year’s Steps for Life team challenge proved what your coach always told you – we can get further when we all work together. An incredible 337 teams participated in walks across Canada this spring! They included dozens of teams representing our national sponsor companies, and six teams who planned their own event through Your Walk Your Way. Working together, these teams raised thousands of dollars to raise awareness about workplace health and safety, and to support people affected by workplace tragedy. Thanks teams! You’re all champs in our books!
The heart-wrenching legacy of brain injury
Brain injury can be devastating but I see my role as an advocate for people affected by brain injury whether it be the survivor or the family members.
Family Forum sponsors help make healing happen
For many people attending a Threads of Life family forum, it may be the first time they’ve met anyone who’s been through a similar experience of workplace tragedy. Many say it’s the first time they’ve felt free to cry; some say it’s the first...
Book review: Option B
Option B (by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant, Knopf 2017) grew out of Sheryl Sandberg’s experience with grief following the tragic death of her husband in 2015. (The end of her Option A). For we who have been thrust into grief following a workplace tragedy the details of her story will be familiar. She describes “overcoming grief” as moving from being in a fog or void (a time of incapacity) to functioning in a more predictable way.
Making our sunshine: Steps for Life 2018
Of all the dozens – maybe hundreds – of images I saw from 2018’s Steps for Life walks, these are a couple of my favourites. Our Facebook page and Instagram feed are filled with bright sunny photos. Almost all of our 27 community walks were blessed with lovely weather this year. Not Calgary though! Cold, wet, gloomy – it looked downright miserable.
Volunteer Profile: Lissa Gaudet
Lissa Gaudet volunteers as the co-chair of the Halifax Steps for Life walk. Lissa’s position as QHSE Advisor at McNally Construction Inc. in Halifax brings the importance of workplace safety to Lissa’s mind every day.
A life-altering summer job
Each year hundreds of high school students from all across Canada begin working for the summer, and for many this will be their first “real” job. Fifteen years ago, I was beginning my summer job at a golf resort on Prince Edward Island; I did not realize at the time it would change my life forever.
Day of Mourning: Carrying the weight
April 28th once again brings us the National Day of Mourning; a day marked to reflect on the lives lost or forever changed by workplace injury and illness, and re-commit to the actions required for prevention. There’s an extra layer of heaviness for those who feel this particular loss in their bones — for those who know this pain up close and personally.
Siblings Day: Honouring life’s longest relationship
Each year on April 10th, my Facebook newsfeed floods with pictures and posts of friends and family members tagging siblings in photos new and old under the #NationalSiblingsDay hashtag. Do they know the origins of the day?
