New Threads of Life Executive Director - Eugene Gutierrez

Tune in to meet Eugene Gutierrez who shares his personal story about his connection with Threads of Life, his evolution from volunteer to Executive Director, and his vision for the organization in the future.

Transcript

Perley Brewer (Guest)   0:12
Welcome to today's podcast.
My name is preparer and I will be your host, today's guest on our podcast is Eugene Gutierrez, who is a new CEO for Threads of Life.
Welcome, Eugene.

Eugene Gutierrez - Threads of Life   0:25
Thank you for having me.

Perley Brewer (Guest)   0:28
Let's start your Jane by getting you to tell folks who may not have heard about threads of life.
What does that organizational about?

Eugene Gutierrez - Threads of Life   0:36
Yeah, certainly.
Well, first of all, threads of life is a national charity organization that supports families and individuals impacted by a workplace tragedy, be it from a life altering injury and occupational disease or a job related fatality.
We know that dealing with the aftermath of a workplace tragedy is a lifelong journey for many, and that experience can usually feel very isolating.
And so, you know, at threads of life, we want them to know that they are not alone, that there's a community that understands what they're going through, that we're here to help and that we have programs and peer support services to to aid them in their healing and.
And it's really offered at no cost to anyone seeking help and guidance.
So that's threads of life for anybody who isn't familiar with us.
And yeah, always happy to share more.

Perley Brewer (Guest)   1:30
So over the last couple of years, I've had the opportunity to interview a number of folks involved in threads of life, and one thing I've discovered is in in most of the cases, folks have a story to share as to why they get involved.
Or would your story be?

Eugene Gutierrez - Threads of Life   1:48
Yeah, my story as far as reasons for being even connected to threads of life in the 1st place come from a very personal place for me.
Back in 2017, I had lost my father.
Bought to a workplace fatality, he was a 30 year mining surveyor.
Veteran, who was struck by mobile mining equipment during a routine shift underground.
And you know, Needless to say, that traumatic experience, you know it, it changed me.
It changed my family's life forever.
And you know, when I think back to that time, I found myself, I truly overwhelmed by grief.
You know, we we we don't really know how to deal with it until you're faced with it.
And I certainly had no idea how to how to cope with that.
And then, you know, losing my dad already, you know, just when I thought that that wasn't enough, I was also being overwhelmed with the investigations associated with my dad's death on the job.
So so it was a lot and I really struggled to find support, try to number of different things.
Um EAP talking to some friends and and some family members which I mean, you know, God bless them.
They you know, they they were truly supportive.
But I just felt like it.
It just wasn't.
It wasn't wasn't giving me what I needed, and so it wasn't actually until a WCB caseworker introduced me to threads of life.
And really, from there, through the support of an incredible volunteer family guide.
Someone that had experienced something similar to myself, I started to heal and in turn I found other people like me that that get it and from that point on, you know, I just started to learn more about the organization and learned about their mission and was really, really inspired.
That proverbial light bulb came on for me, and I realized that, hey, you know what?
Like this is an outlet that I needed to not only honor the memory of my father who I love very much, but in opportunity to pay it forward and help others like myself.
So you know, I I signed up to be a volunteer with threads of life.
I participated in, you know, planning steps for life walks.
I I became a speaker to share my story similar to what I'm doing right now to, you know, to help prevent future tragedies, tragedies from happening, and facilitated workshops that are family forum events and then just a circle, everything you know, I became a volunteer family guide to offer that same peer support that was vital to my own healing from the very beginning and being able to volunteer and give back over what is it now, about seven years or more was a very rewarding experience.
And that experience A, you know, it truly crystallized to me that this was gonna be my purpose, that this was gonna be that North Star as far as wanting to help people and save lives.
And so when that opportunity came to join threads of life by way of applying for the executive director position, cause our current executive director I had announced her retirement.
I thought that that would be the chance for me to devote my professional life and all the skills and all the experience that I amassed over my entire career, journey into something truly meaningful and important and and now here I am getting to share this story and where I'm at and and I'm very grateful.

Perley Brewer (Guest)   5:47
Now you briefly mentioned a number of the different activities that that you've been involved with.
Can you talk in a little more depth about the different types of psychological support you provide to folks at, you know, need need some help?
Need some assistance.

Eugene Gutierrez - Threads of Life   6:05
Yeah, absolutely.
So yeah, as far as our support and the programs that we provide for, for folks that have been impacted by a form of workplace tragedy.
So some of the things I kind of mentioned in my own personal journey, so I I mentioned a volunteer family guide.
And so that's an individual that again.
Is someone who has experienced a similar workplace tragedy so you know if you've experienced a a workplace fatality where you've lost a loved one on the job?
We endeavor to pair that individual with a.
An individual that's part of our membership that has experienced a workplace fatality, or someone that suffered a life altering injury.
We try to do a similar pairing and we find that being able to pair peer support in that fashion it it really hits home.
That level of relatability that these are people that, um, again, they get it, they they've walked, that they've walked that journey and and therefore they're in a position to, you know, be able to listen intently, to be able to sympathize and empathize in ways, perhaps that family members and close friends couldn't, because they haven't necessarily experienced exactly what that individual has faced.
So that's our volunteer family guide peer support program.
We also have I mentioned family forums and so our family forums, they are an annual event that happens over a course of a weekend and it's a really great opportunity for for folks to come together who have experienced similar workplace tragedy trauma to be able to network, to be able to.
Connect with other people to to reflect on not only their own stories, but hear back the stories of others and see those similarities and as well there are also planned workshops where these individuals can learn new coping skills, new strategies to kind of aid them on their own healing journey and as well deal with their own grief.
So we have our our family form events.
We have something called our families connect session.
Or workshops I should say.
And so these are monthly online workshops that we do scheduling and and programming on.
And so we recognize that, you know, Canada is a very big place and not everyone has the opportunity to say travel to our in-person family form events or for that matter.
We also recognize that people lead very busy lives and so we try to meet them in in ways that is most convenient.
And we know that with.
Using online platforms, be it you know, it could be teams, zoom or what have you that we use video conferencing as a way to connect people in a similar fashion like our form events and be able to provide that individual with again a helpful workshops that can aid them with coping with grief, perhaps dealing with some challenges in their own personal life and as well to facilitate that opportunity for them to talk with others that have walked a similar path.
And so that's our families Connect workshop series um the as well.
I mentioned steps for life and so steps for life is an annual fundraiser walk that we do across the country in various communities.
It's an opportunity where volunteers from the community, it could be also folks that have experienced a workplace tragedy.
It includes also local businesses organizations.
It's not the opportunity to bring everybody together and you know it's it's a it's a 5 kilometer walk.
It's an opportunity to get outside, meet other folks, but really, the fundamental purpose of that walk is to raise awareness about workplace tragedy to to let everybody know that, you know, there are people who are impacted by these things and and in driving that awareness, the hope is that we can also continue to promote that message of prevention.
So it's a great opportunity for those who you know, perhaps are hearing about threads of life for the first time and want to get involved in a way that uh, you know, maybe is a little bit more easier to receive and and and participate in.
So we strongly encourage people to check out our walks.
And so that's a great way to to participate in start that journey with us.
And then we also have things like, you know, we have our newsletter that we do quarterly that we put out and it contains stories from other members, members and our community talking about their journey, again, sharing tips and strategies on you know how to cope with grief and as well really great articles about our volunteers and partners.
And so we do that on a quarterly basis to keep our Membership informed.
But that's just a quick spattering of just the various services and programs that we provide to our membership and again offered at no cost to them, so completely free.

Perley Brewer (Guest)   11:46
Now Eugene, normally when someone new comes into an organization, especially at the CEO level, there are changes that that they like to bring with them, some ideas that they have that they feel they'd like to incorporate.
You've just recently taken over an organization.

Eugene Gutierrez - Threads of Life   12:02
The.

Perley Brewer (Guest)   12:04
Now what kind of changes would you like to see when it comes to threads of life?

Eugene Gutierrez - Threads of Life   12:09
Yeah.
You know, for me it's not so much change per se as it is more about evolving, adapting and scaling.
And so for me, maintaining the core, the the essence of what threads of life is about helping people impacted by workplace tragedies, rendering workplace tragedies as being morally, socially, and economically unacceptable, that's paramount.
And I'm very much committed to that.
And for me, it's about ensuring that threads of life not only remain strong, but is open to new progressive ideas that it is in a position to embrace and continue embracing modern technology and tools so that we can better serve our community, meet the changing needs and preferences of our current membership to reach more people, and at the end of the day, tell our collective story nationwide. So.
So it's not, you know, I'm not coming in looking to do radical change, but again it's it's looking at what's that next stage and ensuring that we remain relevant and that that we are adaptable.

Perley Brewer (Guest)   13:28
Now when you look at other jurisdictions and I I'm not sure how much time you've had to do that yet, when you look at other jurisdictions across the world actually, are there things they're doing that that you look at and say, hey, you know what's something maybe we could consider here in Canada?

Eugene Gutierrez - Threads of Life   13:44
That's a great question.
The you know, as far as we know at threads of life, you know our organization was the first organization in the world to adopt that peer support model to to help specifically people cope and navigate from a work related tragedy.
And so to that end, you know, we're we're certainly honored to, to have been a model for some other jurisdictions and and other areas of the world.
But but all that to say, I'm certainly not suggesting at a whole that there aren't new things for us to learn and as well take inspiration from, you know we we know that the world.
Is it's truly a rapidly changing place, and as society changes as technology changes, I mean, you know, feels like everyday there's something new in the in the tech world and social media world that, you know, the way that we interact, the way that we communicate with with one another changes.
And so again, I go back to that point that you know, threads of life will continue to to adapt, but as well learn new ways to to try and meet our members where they are and and provide them with the help they need.
So, um, yeah, for us, we always like to keep the aperture wide and you know, we're certainly not the you not in a position that you know, hey, if we if we see something that's really great to adopt, you know we'll, we'll we'll look into it, lean into it and if it makes sense for us to kind of blend into our own offerings and we'll certainly do that.

Perley Brewer (Guest)   15:12
Now you mentioned a lot of things that that you're trying to do in house.
If you look at the outside agencies, groups, whatever are the things that they could be doing more to help your your clientele.

Eugene Gutierrez - Threads of Life   15:29
Well, you know, just like with anything, you know, there's always room for improvement.
There's always.
There's always more that we can do.
Um, you know at threads of life, we know that folks who have been impacted, affected by workplace tragedies.
You know there, there's still continuing to find us, which is great, but the, you know, truth be told, we also know that there are still many out there.
Who?
Who haven't heard of us yet?
People who could truly benefit from the support that we offer.
And so, you know, and you, you can just look in the news and, you know, unfortunately, workplace tragedies continue to happen.
So all that to say, does that mean no progress has been made in general?
Absolutely not.
We know that working and collaborating with our partners, you know, and that includes government agencies that the health and safety associations, workers compensation boards and employers, you know, we know we know that the message of workplace safety is spreading.
We know that advocacy for stronger safety measures is making a difference, but you know from my perspective, and until a safety first mindset becomes second nature and not just at work, but in our everyday lives, bringing it full circle 360° until we land there, there will always be more to do and so.
Looking at that, which just you know need to continue that collaboration and and and continue driving that awareness and & podcasts such as this is a fantastic vehicle to ensure that we keep heading in that direction.

Perley Brewer (Guest)   17:17
Over the last couple of years, we've had the opportunity to feature a number of folks on our podcast that have been either personally affected by a workplace injury.
A traumatic enough injury that really has impacted their life as well as as folks who have lost a loved one.
And one thing I guess I didn't really think a whole lot about until I heard some of these people speak.
Is they also talked about in addition to the psychological support that they feel they need also the financial support that in, in, in a lot of cases that the person that perhaps was killed not on the job was a main breadwinner and and and all of a sudden.
Yes, that's that's disappeared.
Have you had any feedback during your conversation to with with these folks about?
Is there a need for more financial support from, say, workers compensation agencies for people who have have lost loved ones on the job?
I know we still need psychological support.

Eugene Gutierrez - Threads of Life   18:20
No.

Perley Brewer (Guest)   18:22
That's that's a given, but you know, some of these people said, well, you know, are we doing enough for the financial end?
Have you had any feedback there?

Eugene Gutierrez - Threads of Life   18:30
Yeah, I mean, you know, we're always having various conversations.
Again, I I laddered back up to, you know the comment about.
What more could be done?
Um and again, we're working very closely with our partners and I know that you know, again I make the comment that.
You know, it's not to say it progress isn't being made.
I know progress progress is being pushed forward and it's certainly not an overnight thing.
From our perspective, you know our our lens of focus is really on the support side.

Perley Brewer (Guest)   19:11
OK.

Eugene Gutierrez - Threads of Life   19:12
Um, with our membership, you know, we do hear those comments about the, the need for more financial support and you know I won't speak on behalf of our um WC partners.
Again, they are working very hard to to continue moving things forward and you know we're we're strongly a supportive of the partnership between US and and those organizations and you know for us are our way of helping our family members is I go back to you know, I think I've echoed this response before is that.
When people are dealing with an aftermath of workplace tragedy, the thing that does keep coming to the surface very loudly is that.
For us, we need them to know that there is one simple, powerful truth that those individuals need to know, that they they aren't alone.
Um, because yes, when you're dealing with the emotional and the financial and the physical and the mental and all the things that are involved.
Uh, it is so overwhelming.
Um, amongst many other feelings.
And so I I think I mentioned before it's it's an isolating experience and so the need to know that there is a community that exists to to help guide them to, to be able to be a sounding board and walk alongside them are you know for us that's that's that's where we really shine in and feel that we provide most value uh for our for our membership and so to be able to offer that hope and healing when they need it the most.
And so again we we know collectively that there's always more that that can be done and you know again working closely with our partners, um, I know that there is a overwhelm overall consensus that that, that we all know we all know that you know there's always something that could be done better and the sense we get is that that that movement is still continuing to move forward.
And so, but for us the the awareness piece, if anyone's going to ask, hey, what, what more can we do to help these individuals awareness that there is a support system there for them, right?
To me, that's probably the the the biggest.
First step that folks can do and and it can go a long way to let them know that hey, there are people that understand there.
There are people that can help.

Perley Brewer (Guest)   21:58
Now you mentioned earlier in our podcast that you found it very difficult during the legal process of of of your father's death.
And do you get feedback from your your folks that you deal with it that that really is is is common in in a lot of cases that folks find that process that of the investigation and of you know possible court cases and so on a very stressful time as well?

Eugene Gutierrez - Threads of Life   22:30
Yeah, I with most with most of our threads of life community members it it is.
It is a common theme that comes up and you know where that comes from.
So when you think about, especially in the case of, you know, if you if you lost somebody on the job and then you know they're they're they're investigating, you know, why did it happen?
How did it happen?
I mean, for starters, you know, when you lose a loved one.
Um already right there.
That's such a that's such a devastating blow.
On it I mean that that's that's that's understating it.
I mean, so you're just trying to come to terms with the fact that that person is no longer there?

Perley Brewer (Guest)   23:17
The.

Eugene Gutierrez - Threads of Life   23:20
Once that kinda settles a bit.
What I hear from most people is that you know you go from that stage to now.
I now I need to know I need to know.
What happened exactly like the steps that kind of led to that incident and why?
How how did something like that happen?
And so when it's when you find yourself in the middle of, like, this investigation process.
Um, where it becomes stressful, where it becomes overwhelming is that you find yourself having to deal with different entities, right?
Entities that you didn't have to deal with before, so you know if I use my own personal experience, um, you know, I'm working with my workers compensation board case case manager who's looking after our family and looking at, you know.
Our particular case in claim there's so many steps involved in that.
Then there's the.
You know you're in my case.
My dad was in the mining industry.
So you know, we were dealing dealing with the ministry because we know that you know there was gonna be an investigation to take place that, you know, they had to rule out things like you know was it was it and is there a criminal intent is who's at fault and then coming out of all of that then there's an inquest that follows.
And so again, all things that prior to that incident would never have to cross that bridge.
And now we're crossing those bridges, but because it's also, you know, you're going through this investigation that the challenge is when you want answers or when you want to ask questions, the the thing that's the most challenging is that you don't know necessarily when you're gonna get those answers.
Um, sometimes it could be, you know, a series of months before you get, you know, someone checking in and saying, hey, just checking in with you.
You know, we're still, we're still looking into things unfortunately.
You know, we don't have any ants or any new information to provide, so you know, you know, sit tight.
We'll be in touch.
And so it's just, it's the waiting, it's the wondering.
And so, you know, while you're waiting and wondering for, you know, that that next set of information to come through, you're also trying to, like, get on with your own day and and try to navigate your own routine life.
And so you know, bit by bit you know if I use the the analogy of like, you know, the scabs forming over your wounds and then when you get that new scrap of information it in some cases it it's like picking you back up wherever you were on that path and kind of throwing you back at the beginning because it's in a way it's kind of you're kind of scratching off those scabs again because you're reliving, you're reliving that trauma again every time you get a a bit of the overall puzzle to see that big picture.
And so that's that's the that's the challenge.
And again I I am aware that you know with our partners, you know we have partners in the ministry with our WCB's.
That's, you know, everyone's working together.
Everyone's looking at that overall picture to kind of go, you know, because they're all connected.
They all play a piece in in the process and you know, and we're involved in that as well too.
And and because of that experience that that we have felt first hand and the stories that we hear from our membership, that part of our role and that broader partnership and broader collaboration is to inform our partners that you know as they look at ways of improving the process as they look at ways of how can we get to family sooner because again we know that there are families and individuals and workers that you know they'll wait for a long period of time.
And so so we are always finding opportunities where and when we can to to let folks know that hey, as you do your very important work as you do your work that impacts workers and and family members that you know we're there as a reminder to let them know that hey, we know that you're making improvements, but please don't forget you know, there's a especially when you write reports, things like that, things that people kind of can maybe perhaps can take for granted because you know you're right.
However, many reports like it becomes, you know, it can become quite a process that, you know, maybe you just becomes autopilot, but I know like for myself when I read certain reports related to my dad's case, you know, and for the people who were involved in writing the reports specific to my dad's case, they were very thorough.
They they were very comprehensive and and I truly appreciated that because it was giving me a level of closure that I needed.
So the reason why I use that as an example is that I when I have the opportunity to talk to partners, I let them know things like hey, by the way, even when you write reports, not be mindful that you know, will a family member always see it or a worker always see it?
I mean, it's their choice.
But if they do choose to see it, bear in mind that it's like your words.
It has meaning, it can have impact.
And so so yeah, that that entire process of going through and investigation and coming on the other side of it.
So so that the hope is that you can move forward with your life.
It's.
Yeah.
There's so many parts and pieces, and that's why I go back to the earlier comment to let people know.
Hey, you're not alone.
There are people who have gone through that that that's where we can help to kind of help bring, you know, all these moving parts and pieces.
They're kind of floating around and and and help make sense of it for for these folks and and be able to, you know, let them know that it's like it's it's gonna be OK.
It's gonna take some time, but you don't have to do it by yourself.
Where we're we're here to support you on that.

Perley Brewer (Guest)   29:28
So to finish off a last question and and I guess I would say the most important question I'm gonna ask today is, is how is your family doing today?
And it's it's been a number of years since your father passed away.
How is overall your family doing?

Eugene Gutierrez - Threads of Life   29:45
That's a real that's a really nice question to ask.
Yeah, my family.
I mean, it's been, yeah, seven.
It'll be eight years this November.
You know, I I remember earlier in my journey, and I remember telling other threads of life members this I I said when does this grief go away?
Like does it go away in a year?
Does it go away two years like I this feeling I need to get rid of it because it's awful.
There's not a single day that goes by where me and my family are, you know, like where we are always missing my dad.
Um, and we always find ways to integrate them in our everyday.
How are we doing in general?
We're doing, we're doing, we're doing well.
You know we're we're we're continuing to move forward in our life.
I think my dad would be really proud of, you know, the work that we collectively have been doing to raise awareness.
And I often wonder what my dad would think, knowing that I'm in this position, you know, leading an organization that gave me so much hope from from the very beginning. But.
Going back to that grief, in the beginning, I thought that I wanted to get rid of it, and when I think about the grief and the loss of my dad after all these years, it's going to sound strange.
But I hope that grief never leaves me because that grief is a reminder of how much I loved that man.
And so we're doing well.
Hey, do I still miss my dad?
Yes, I still miss my dad.
And do I still carry that grief of my dad?
Yes, and I'm and I.
And I'm happy to carry that because that will always be a reminder of the person that that we loved.
And so.
So yeah, no, we're we're doing well and I hope that folks that are listening that you know, I I hope that you learn more about threads of life and and help us out because.
You know that hope and healing can make a big difference.
It certainly did in my life.

Perley Brewer (Guest)   32:04
Were any of you are the family members able to take or or get any support from thirds of life or take advantage of that support?

Eugene Gutierrez - Threads of Life   32:15
Yeah, I mean, you know, I had an opportunity to bring my my mom and my sister to a threads of life family forum in the first couple years.
And you know, it's one of those things where everyone, everyone deals with their grief in different ways.
And so, you know, my sister, compared to me is very private in her grief.
And so, you know, she has her own support circle, but at the same time too, you know, for her.
When it comes to threads of life and and and leveraging the support that's available there.
Participation for her is very different than, say, someone like myself.
Who?
Who did so much volunteering for her?
You know, she attended a family form event.
Thought felt that that was very insightful and and very impactful to hear from other people that that had that similar experience.
And for her every year we do our steps for life walk.
She participates in that, so I live in London ON and my sister lives about an hour and a half away from me and so she will come.
Um, come down to my local community walk and we walk together in memory of my dad, whereas my my mom she has also attended a family forum event and uh, you know from a steps for life perspective helps to raise awareness on her end in her community and as far as her circle of friends and and close close loved ones and will help you know with fundraising and and again spread that awareness A but but otherwise you know compared to me you know they they they feel that between that forum and the steps for life walk.
For them, that's that's.
That's as much as they need, and that's OK we recognize that everyone will take as much as they need and that's OK and that's why it's important for us to provide all those different services because we recognize that, you know, some people will want it all like like me, we have Membership members in our community that that would like the full gamut.
And there are folks that, you know, I mentioned in newsletter.
So I know that my mom, my mom receives her quarterly newsletter, and sometimes that's all that people need too.
It's just to know that, hey, I'm not alone.
And there's stories out there that I can that I can read.
And so so yeah.
So that's how my family has a kind of taken to the threads of life Services during our journey.

Perley Brewer (Guest)   34:56
Well, look, Eugene, thank you very much for sharing your personal story as well as the threads of life story for our listeners of our podcast.
It is so easy to reach out to threads of life.
You know, with our technology that we have available, as simple as it's Googling threads of life and so many good support mechanisms that they have in place.
Feel free to share that information with your coworkers with your friends, with anyone you feel that that can can use a little support because you know, unfortunately, there's still a lot of accidents happening across their country and people still and will need support.
So thank you very much again Eugene, for being on our podcast today to our listeners.
Thank you very much for listening and we will talk to you again next week.
Take care.
Have a safe week.