Greetings!
May is a busy month in the safety world! Whether you brought in a Threads of Life speaker, hosted our display at an event or walked in Steps for Life, you made good things happen! Here’s just a sample of the families, programs and events you supported.
Safety for young workers = safety for everyone
A heart-to-heart with yourself
Stephen Evans was just 24 the day the police came to his mom’s door back home in Alberta. Stephen had been killed when a vehicle he was driving rolled over on the cattle station where he was working in Australia. In his journal, just weeks before his death, Stephen had written: “After work on Wednesday I had a heart to heart with myself and admitted that I’m not giving it my all and that I can work harder.” The vehicle Stephen had been given to drive was poorly maintained and a wheel fell off. Stephen’s mom Betty asks “Did the owners of the cattle station have heart to heart conversations with themselves – ensuring their employees were safe?” As a young worker, Stephen would have trusted that the tools and equipment he was given to work with were safe. We know young workers are at greater risk and require more training and supervision – but the safety practices you put in place to protect them will protect all workers. Is it time for a heart-to-heart with yourself, about young worker safety in your workplace?
15 days, 50-plus stories
From Quesnel BC to St. John’s NL and all points in between, you welcomed Threads of Life speakers to your conferences, safety meetings, ceremonies and walks this year. Between Day of Mourning and NAOSH week, our volunteer speakers made more than 50 presentations, sharing their stories of workplace tragedy and spreading their messages of safety. One person responded: “I just wanted to pass along a comment about a speaker representing Threads of Life today. I enjoyed listening to his message very much, as much as you can enjoy hearing about the suffering of another. His message was heartfelt, sincere and he was very easy to listen to. He certainly puts a face to the fact that we should endeavour to be a part of a safe work environment every day for ourselves, our coworkers and our families.” We couldn’t have said it better. Thank you for helping us spread the word!
You truly STEPped up!
The final totals won’t be in for a few weeks, but we already know Steps for Life – Walking for Families of Workplace Tragedy 2018 was a huge success! How do we know? Well, not just because the thermometer on our Steps for Life website is close to bursting! We know because so many individuals, organizations and companies were part of the walk this year, and that means more and more people are sharing their passion for workplace safety. And more families will gain support in coping with work-related fatalities, life-altering injuries and occupational disease. You’ve created a community of hope and a community of culture change. Leea Boxall, spokesperson for Steps for Life Regina said “There is a genuine sense of community being involved with the Steps for Life walk. This is a group of people, like me, who have experienced pain and loss from workplace tragedy. For me, it is a healing experience to come together to support each other and honour the people we love with a positive focus on how we can make our workplaces safer. My hope is that the walk makes us all think about how we can be safe every day.”

Thank you to all our walkers, donors, sponsors and volunteers! Stay tuned to hear the final results!
On our blog
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 ...

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threadsoflife.ca
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.

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threadsoflife.ca