Photo credit: Ben Pollard on Flickr
While April 28 has been designated the Day of Mourning, this year Vancouver’s Day of Mourning ceremony is Friday, April 26 at the Vancouver Convention Centre, Jack Poole Plaza area at 10:30 a.m.
This annual ceremony is held in memory of people who died from work-related injury or illness – hosted by WorkSafeBC, the B.C. Federation of Labour, and the Business Council of BC.
Power of public memory
Beyond the ceremony, in our own communities, let’s honour these lost workers by telling their stories. We all know someone – be it a loved one or a guy we knew in high school – and it’s so sad, especially when they were relatively young with so many plans and dreams.
Let’s do our part, as individuals, to prevent similar tragedies by talking about people we knew. Remembering together will strengthen our resolve as individuals.
Order complimentary decals and posters to give out at your memorial event or dedicate a flower to a fallen worker at BC’s Day of Mourning website.
Check out the Weekly Toll on Facebook for stories of individuals lost from workplace tragedies. This American website is run by United Support and Memorial for Workplace Fatalities, a support group for people whose family members died at work.
“We know and understand the devastation which takes place in the mind, body and soul and we strive to help you and others from having to go through both the grieving process and investigative process alone,” reads the USMWF website.
Power of understanding
Sharing personal stories and knowing that others care can be comforting when you lose a loved one. Online memorials, where people leave comments, are an amazing new forum that hasn’t existed before in this format. It’s a new – and valuable – way for people to voice their feelings, which can be very freeing. We suffer in similar ways after losing amazing people, and not everyone understands, so it’s comforting to find others who do.
In Canada, we have Threads of Life, an organization I wrote about in my post Supporting Families After Workplace Tragedy. They organize the Steps for Life walks in communities across Canada to raise funds for their programs. It’s May 5 at the start of NAOSH Week.
