Press
Vermont Chamber of Commerce joins Employee Wellness Partnership
September 13, 2024 - The Vermont Chamber of Commerce announced today its participation in the Employee Wellness Partnership, a statewide initiative coordinated by Workplace Compliance and Wellness Vermont (WCWV). The program brings together companies, organizations, and resource providers to reduce suicide and overdose deaths in Vermont by promoting a culture of care and empathy within workplaces and communities. Read more at Vermont Business Magazine..
AGC of Vermont Saves Lives Through Employee Wellness Partnership
In spring 2023, Reid Wobby, an employee wellness consultant with VTHC in Vermont, sat down with his father, Richard Wobby, Executive Vice President of Associated General Contractors of Vermont (AGC/VT), to spell out the mental health crisis in the construction industry. During one of their conversations, he shared the Vermont Social Autopsy Report, which showed that, compared to other industries in the state, construction had the highest rate of overdose deaths and second-highest rate of suicide deaths. Read more at New England Construction Magazine.
AGC/VT continues to expand its naloxone distribution program to include suicide prevention and employee wellness
September 1, 2024 - Wobby, an employee wellness consultant, has spent almost two years training organizations on naloxone, suicide prevention, and wellness. He partnered with the Associated General Contractors of Vermont (AGC/VT) and Stephanie Busch, injury prevention manager at the state Department of Health, which provides the naloxone. Since late 2023, the Employee Wellness Partnership initiative has distributed naloxone to construction industry members. Read more at Vermont Business Magazine.
AGC/VT
July 26, 2024 - AGC/VT and the Employee Wellness Partnership developed a nationally recognized mental health awareness campaign, led by Reid Wobby and Gregory Tatro. Through partnership with Stephanie Busch of Vermont’s Department of Health, they have distributed Narcan doses to Vermont business and organizations and harm reduction kits to help the people in need; held virtual “Ted Talks” and on-site visits with contractors and organizations to discuss mental health and employee well-being. Read more at Times Argus Community News.
AGC Vermont receives 2024 Power of Associations Gold Award for employee wellness
July 23, 2024 - The Associated General Contractors of Vermont has been recognized as a Power of Associations Gold Award recipient by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) for its successful Vermont Employee Wellness Partnership initiative. AGC/VT and the Employee Wellness Partnership have developed a nationally recognized mental health awareness campaign, led by Reid Wobby and Gregory Tatro. They have been highlighted across various media outlets and have been invited to Association gatherings across the Northeast to help train and educate groups on these issues. Read more at Vermont Business Magazine.
‘Man Therapy’ aims to aid men’s mental health in Vermont
May 31, 2024 - Reid Wobby is a drug and alcohol consultant who works closely with Vermont contractors, which is a predominantly male industry. “The stereotypical kind of picture-perfect person, a construction worker or that type of person historically, has not been someone who has said, ‘I need help, I’m not doing well,’ and that goes back to the stigma,” said Wobby. Read more at WCAX.
Efforts to curb overdoses in Vermont’s construction industry
March 27, 2024 - In an effort to save lives, the Association of General Contractors is partnering with the Department of Health and drug and alcohol consultant Reid Wobby to distribute Narcan doses and harm-reduction packs. “We’re disproportionately affected, but you can’t live for a day without hearing a story of somebody dying from an overdose, whether young or old, a child, a friend, a parent. So, just preparing, empowering everybody with the knowledge and the Narcan, to respond to an overdose is really what my goal is,” he said. Read more at WCAX.
AGC/VT: Supporting Flood Recovery and Each Other
February 15, 2024 - Reid grew up in Vermont, served in the Army, then moved back. He spent a decade working in the construction industry, most recently as the Safety and Risk Manager at Kingsbury Companies in Middlesex. He left Kingsbury in 2022 to start Vermont Hemp and Cannabis Safety Consultants to guide Vermont companies on how to comply with Vermont’s new marijuana laws while keeping workers sober and safe on the job. Then in February 2023, Reid saw the 2021 Vermont Social Autopsy Report prepared by the Vermont Department of Health (VDH). Read more on the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development website.
Can overdose and suicide prevention education change the Vermont construction industry?
September 22, 2023 - An increased focus on mental health education in the Vermont construction industry, one of leading fields in overdose and suicide rates in the state. Program officials are highlighting a new partnership that focuses on getting Narcan into the pockets of construction site workers, and leaders say efforts have been successful so far. “It’s been unbelievably beneficial, we think that we’re making a huge impact,” says Drug and Alcohol Safety Consultant Reid Wobby. Read more at My Champlain Valley.