Volunteer Profile: Charlene Nahamko
by Elaine Mew, Volunteer Coordinator
November 2022 marked the beginning of two journeys for Charlene Nahamko: a lifelong grief journey and a three-year legal ordeal. November 2022 was when her oldest son, Greg, died in a workplace incident in the oilfields of northern Alberta. Navigating the complexities of the legal system is hard enough, but even more so when you have two other children who also need support as they learn to live without their big brother; not to mention dealing with her own emotions.
Charlene’s journey to Threads of Life came when the support for therapy from WCB ran out. With no one to understand the depths of her loss and what she was experiencing, she attended a grief support group where someone mentioned Threads of Life. Vaguely remembering seeing a pamphlet in materials received from the funeral home, she went online and discovered that Threads of Life was exactly what she needed: a community that understood, supported and just held space for her.
A workplace incident in a tight-knit community naturally leads to a lot of questions. Fortunately, colleagues of her son, Greg, were open to her building awareness so, as a family, they travelled north to hold a BBQ, answer questions, share his picture and story. A seed was planted. Her community needed what Threads of Life provided to her and the following year the Steps for Life walk was launched in Slave Lake.
As Chair for the Slave Lake Steps for Life walk, Charlene is touched by the passion local companies demonstrate when supporting the walk. For her it signifies how deeply they understand the impact of a workplace incident on families who carry it with them throughout life. And Memory Lane is a key part of the event for Charlene, giving families a chance year after year to honour loved ones who’ve experienced fatalities, injuries and illnesses.
After the shock of Greg’s death wore off, Charlene felt immense anger which she knew needed to be channeled into something positive. She took that anger to help her community of Slave Lake, where many friends and family live, to heal. Chatting with her son’s colleagues after his death and learning that support was not provided helped her choose a new career path as a support worker, walking alongside individuals experiencing grief in the First Nations community north of Slave Lake. She facilitates workshops on mental wellness and self-care which are vital to the foundation of workplace health and safety. Informally known as ‘that welder’s mom’, there is immediate recognition and understanding of the importance of these topics. She is there with a story to share and with an open heart and open mind. Though she may not have all the answers, she can connect individuals to people and resources they may need.
The healing journey for Charlene and her children continues. November is hard as it’s a reminder of the incident that took Greg’s life, but April is a more emotional month with the National Day of Mourning, his birthday and the Steps for Life walk in Slave Lake all happening in the same period. His legacy lives on in Grego Land, a rave organized as a loving tribute by Greg’s DJ friends, in the work that Charlene does and in her volunteering with Threads of Life.
She is now considering joining the speakers bureau to share her experience. “It helps my heart and I know I’m doing good to help other people, to bring awareness to safety, to bring awareness to communities, our community especially, to let them know that there are people who have gone through it. There are people that understand.”