LEWES MEN'S SHED 

There is concern that men who live alone, often following widowhood or divorce, tend not to do as well as women living alone and become withdrawn with a greater incidence of dementia. One of the organisations that tried to deal with this is the mens shed movement.

 

The men's shed movement originated in Australia. One of the precursors of the movement began in the 1980s in Broken Hill, New South Wales, involving former miners. Another was the Albury Manual Activities Centre, also known as "Albury Men's Shed" which opened in 1978. Work in Adelaide focused upon the gender biased and inappropriate care of older men living with dementia in care settings and on Vietnam Veterans.

 

Men's sheds or community sheds are non profit organisations that provide a space for craft work and social integration. Originally intended as a way to improve the health and wellbeing of older men, some have expanded to include anyone, regardless of age or gender. There are now over 900 in Australia, with thousands of active members. Men's sheds can also be found in: the UK, Ireland, US, Canada, Finland, Estonia, NZ, and Greece.

 

There is a loose confederation of sheds in the uk  https://menssheds.org.uk/ but each shed is independent and separately run. Lewes mens shed was recently started up by Sarah Caulfield; Wellbeing Team Lead for Foundry Healthcare and Julie Barnet, Dementia Coordinator at Foundry Healthcare, Lewes.

 

Originally starting up with 8-10 pioneers the Lewes shed has gained charitable status and has been given donations of a massive, albeit temporary, workspace and of heavy woodworking equipment and we are now looking for new members.

​

Although the emphasis in sheds are often on crafts, Lewes men's shed has not forgotten their origins and social interaction remains key. Currently we meet on Mondays from 10 am to 2pm and on Wednesdays 12- 3 when a limited lunch is available. We hope to soon expand into at least three days a week.