The Tailgate Toolkit Project
We’ve moved!
For the most up-to-date information on the Tailgate Toolkit, please visit our dedicated website, www.thetailgatetoolkit.ca
After a successful partnership in 2017 to offer naloxone training to its members, VICA is excited to be partnering again with Island Health for the Tailgate Toolkit Project. The Tailgate Toolkit Project is an innovative program aimed at increasing access to harm reduction services and ideas for those working in the construction industry.
The precedent for this project comes from the 2018 BC Coroner’s Report “Illicit Drug Overdose Deaths in BC: Findings of Coroners’ Investigations” which investigated demographic trends among those who had lost their lives to a drug poisoning event. The construction, trades, and transport industry is overrepresented – of the 44% of people who were employed at the time of their death 55% worked in our industry.
The Tailgate Toolkit Project started in January of 2021 in partnership with Island Health’s Public Health Strategic Initiatives: Overdose Response Division with a grant from the British Columbia Ministry of Mental Health & Addictions.
The Project started with a thorough Stakeholder Engagement Process, which lead to the creation of the 4 component project structure.
Stakeholder Engagement Report
VICA and Island Health are extremely grateful to those who have participated in the stakeholder engagement process.
The stories heard within the interviews were
undoubtedly ones of resilience, perseverance, and bravery.
These stories, along with the input from the Tailgate Toolkit Project Steering Committee and other successful programs around the world were used to determine the structure of the forthcoming Toolkit.
The Tailgate Toolkit Project consists of Toolbox Talks, a training course for industry members, an industry-specific support group in partnership with the Umbrella Society, and region-specific resource packages. Click the buttons below to learn more about each component:
If you any questions or concerns you can connect with the Harm Reduction Team here:
Emily Percival-Paterson (she/they), Project Manager: harmreduction@vicabc.ca
Colby Young (he/him), Project Assistant: harmreductionsupport@vicabc.ca
By Phone: 250.800.0918