Cracking Open the Tailgate Toolkit

Colby and Greg join us to share what the Tailgate Toolkit is, and how its helping men in construction navigate the drug poisoning crisis. https://thetailgatetoolkit.ca/

Greg shares his experiences hiding an opioid addiction that stemmed from a car accident, and how that brought him to helping other men as a Tailgate Toolkit Facilitator. Through talking about the current realities of substance use in the trades, and sharing his authentic story, Greg creates safety for men in Toolkit sessions to be able to share their stories of pain and loss. 

Colby shares how he is focused specifically on trades leadership, partially incentivized by residential building points and gold seal credits, but also just because leaders want to know how to create some kind of safety for their crews; that they are tired of losing their crew members, and the emotional toll it takes on them.

Greg and Colby touch on how their conversations with men in the trades, one group at a time, are slowly changing culture to be able to better take care of ourselves and each other. Greg talks about all the tentacles that are attached to the death reports, such as families, friends, co-workers,  and the group Mom’s Stop the Harm https://www.momsstoptheharm.com/ (who support the Tailgate Toolkit, and are also a Partner with Off the Clock Toolbox Talk). 

Colby reiterates the harm reduction principles they utilize to improve safer usage, and that employers, by law, need to accommodate recovery, and cannot fire employees for having a substance use disorder. From a business point of view, Colby emphasizes that while it is costly to accommodate employee recovery time for a substance use disorder,  its actually more costly to replace people. One of the purposes of Tailgate Toolkit is to support employers navigating the legalities of the drug poisoning crisis with a partnership with Roper Greyell LLP https://ropergreyell.com/, and Colby covers some of the obligations and pro-tips on how employers can begin to helpfully engage with their crews.

Off The Clock Toolbox Talk
Men forging health in the unregulated drug crisis, through real f**king talk.
Learn more about the podcast series at TradesPodcast.com.

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