What is a Men Shed?

Is a Men Shed just for older men?

Definitely not, younger men and teenagers can benefit from obtaining technical and life skills such as communication, expression, participation, socialising and patience. Involving younger men is imperative if skills are to be passed on in a community.

Younger people can also provide stimulation to older men as they tell their stories.

How can the Men Shed help men with mental health?

Mental health covers a huge spectrum. Common areas within mental health are isolation, idleness, loneliness, trauma and depression. Activity is essential because it directs attention away from negative thoughts towards a more positive focus. Men require physical and mental stimulation which is not all that easy for many men to come by.

Men Shed Support from Beyond Blue - http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?link_id=4.1127

How Can a Men Shed be Beneficial to a Retiree?

Retirement, retrenchment, can be a frightening period in life particularly for men who have worked hard all their life. Work has consumed much of their time over their working life and they have had little time to develop new interests and hobbies, still others do not have the financial resources to build and equip their own shed.

Of course one of the things men miss most when they retire is the companionship of their workmates, which must be replaced if they are to have a long and enjoyable retirement. Men sheds can also assist a retiree to integrate, in a useful way, into their community, perhaps for the very first time.

Why Do We Need a Men Shed in Our Community?

Men sheds provides a unique and practical way of addressing men's health issues and it is a way of capturing existing skills in a community; a way of supporting projects that might be marginal, or outside the normal scope of other community groups, or businesses, or that lack practical skills.

Through collaboration, problem solving and decision-making, a men's shed can considerably enhance the initiation and implementation of projects, both new and old and improve the lifestyle of many men.