Medway charity are helping to improve mens mental health

KentOnline / KMTV

With a quarter of men still less likely to seek support, these community spaces are becoming a lifeline.   Our reporter Nailah Mahomed went to see how they're making a difference in Medway.

Transcript

00:00across the UK thousands of men are finding community in an unexpected place their local

00:09shed what might look like a simple workshop is actually a lifeline for many offering friendship

00:16purpose and a space to learn new skills put 12 blocks in a room and you asked them to talk about

00:25their feelings six of them would leave the room immediately and then the other six would try to

00:31find corners of the room but if you put a broken lawnmower in the middle of the room and you ask

00:38those 12 guys to fix it they'd crack on and they'd fix that lawnmower but at the same time within an

00:43hour they'd all know each other's names they'd know about what's going on you know in their lives and

00:48they'd be sharing information that you know they wouldn't do face to face and that's kind of what

00:54happens here sometimes 88% of regulars feel more part of their community

01:01and almost all say they've now made new friends by coming along

01:07getting out meeting people building stuff it's we have we just have a lot of fun you know just i

01:17feel like to come down for a cup of coffee and just chat you know that's that's nice

01:23i'm not stuck indoors staring at four walls and i'm socializing with people as well

01:30and making things and i'm gaining knowledge and i've got a bit of knowledge

01:35control that i can share i was introduced to men in sheds as i was no longer able to work

01:43it is good for me as it keeps me making things it's an open environment where people can come and not be

01:52shackled by thinking oh well this is a health service this is a dwp thing where i've got to be here

02:01across the uk one in three men say they don't know where to turn and half have struggled with poor

02:07mental health yet only one in four feel able to talk to friends here in medway men's shed is a place

02:14for people to talk connect and create and for many of the men who come here it's not just a hobby

02:19space it's somewhere they can open up form friendships that they may not form elsewhere

02:24and share skills and with loneliness and mental health crises continuing to rise across the uk

02:30post-covid it's sheds like these that are making a difference

02:33neil and mehamid for km tv

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