Ballynahinch Men's Shed: Making space for transformation
Recently Groundwork were delighted to attend the official opening of a new woodwork space within the Ballynahinch Men’s Shed. The Men’s Shed team were given the privilege of cutting the ribbon and announcing it as officially open.
We spoke with a leader of a Men’s Shed in Ballynahinch, who shared with us the story of the Men’s Shed as well as the incredible impact this shed is making within their local community.
A new woodwork space
The Men’s Shed in Ballynahinch has been open since 2018 and has over that time been steadily growing. In recent years it became clear that the Men’s Shed started to realise they would need more space.
“We hit a peak number for our one room and we realized that it was becoming a health and safety issue.”
The Men’s Shed applied for funding to buy a wooden shed so that they could have a space completely dedicated to woodwork. Father Brown, a big supporter of the Men’s Shed, generously allowed the use of land behind his own house, but they were sadly unsuccessful with their funding application, and this really began to hold them back.
“The boys would be building stuff, and then we’d sit down five minutes later in the same room and we’d have our lunch. You don’t really want to be sitting eating your sandwiches while choking on saw dust!”
“I actually had to wind back on our advertising because we couldn’t take any more men.”
Eventually, the members of the shed themselves came together to self-fund the majority of the shed, using their own personal savings. They reached out to Groundwork to ask for help to fund the electrical installation required to run tools, and in July this year, they officially opened the space – a fully functioning woodwork area.
“The Men’s Shed is the most rewarding, most fulfilling, ‘feel good’ sort of place I’ve ever been…. Without any exaggeration whatsoever, it was life and death. I think, without the Men’s Shed… I don’t think I’d be here.”
More than just a shed
What makes the Men’s Sheds movement so powerful is not the physical buildings that they occupy, whether it’s an old barn or a wooden shed – it’s the impact that these Sheds have on their community and the people who attend.
Ballynahinch Men’s Shed grow kilos and kilos of food in their community garden, all of which is donated on a weekly basis to the local food bank, and they do what they can to help their local community.
“We try to do one big community project a year, whether it’s restoring benches or creating a playground for a local primary school.”
“The Men’s Shed is the most rewarding, most fulfilling, ‘feel good’ sort of place I’ve ever been…. Without any exaggeration whatsoever, it was life and death. I think, without the Men’s Shed… I don’t think I’d be here.”
“It’s a game changer. It’s like a magic formula… some of the quieter, more withdrawn people when visiting for the first time turn into the loudest brashest hooligans in the bloody place”, it’s great to see!”
And it turns out that the magic formula is quite a simple one: an unassuming, welcoming place for men to make things, grow things, and in the process of doing that meet and connect with others.
Dispelling myths
For every Men’s Shed that exists, there are many men who are sitting at home and have not yet taken the step to visit their local Men’s Shed. They may have seen a leaflet, or had their child or partner mention it to them.
Ballynahinch Men’s Shed are keen to dispel some of the myths that sometimes exist, that keep some people back from trying their local Men’s Shed.
“I think people think it’s a load of old fogies just sitting around drinking tea – like a care home for the elderly – but it’s not. Our shed is very active. You walk in that door in the morning and your feet won’t touch the ground. You’ll be whipped off to do something, whether it’s making planters, pulling stuff out of the polytunnel or repairing fences.”
“Just come down for an hour, have a cup of coffee, have a chat, see if it’s for you. There’s no pressure. You can come and go as you want. We have it drummed into the members of the Shed that the only pressure is the pressure they put on themselves. You can come in the shed and do what you want.”
They also have noticed that others might be worried about having to commit to coming down on a regular basis.
“Just come down for an hour, have a cup of coffee, have a chat, see if it’s for you. There’s no pressure. You can come and go as you want. We have it drummed into the members of the Shed that the only pressure is the pressure they put on themselves. You can come in the shed and do what you want.”
Men’s Sheds can be beneficial to men of all ages.
“On the Monday night it’s a younger crowd. We have two hours, and a complete newbie coming in with no experience whatsoever can make a pen in an hour. It gets these guys out once a week, and it’s not a pub setting. You don’t have that pressure on you to have a drink – you know, pubs can be quite noisy and it’s hard to have a conversation. On a Monday night you get a wee group sitting and chatting away and people drift in and out. It’s a lovely group, and it’s quite relaxed.”
Taking the first step
It can be difficult for men to take that first step and to visit a Men’s Shed.
“Loneliness is a big thing when you get to that age…. It gets to the stage in life where you can’t be bothered. You start to develop that fortress mentality. You’d quite happily sit there.. I was in the house for a year and a half. You do lose the art of conversation.”…. “It was difficult for me to get out that first day. Second day was easier, third day was easier.”
If you are curious about visiting a Men’s Shed, get in touch with them. Ballynahinch Men’s Shed encourages anyone coming to the shed to bring someone with them for their first visit. If you know someone who would be interested in joining a Men’s Shed, don’t just tell them about it. Bring them there, and come in with them for that first visit.
If you’re not sure where your local Men’s Shed is you can find your nearest Men’s Shed on Groundwork’s website at www.groundwork.org.uk/mens-sheds
