Halton Haven Hospice in Runcorn, UK, identified a local need – “Bereaved men are very often not interested in the traditional family support offering of formal counselling or listening,” explained Chief Executive Shaun Pollard.
In response to this need, the hospice has set up a ‘Men’s Shed’ within its new family support centre, which has recently been completed.
Shaun adds: “We researched the idea, originally from Australia, of creating a Men’s Shed where men could feel at home, work on projects of their own choosing at their own pace. A place of leisure where men come together to work.”
The shed contains tools and workbenches, alongside computers and a kitchen for those who want to learn to cook, and there is the opportunity to learn photography or develop gardening skills. The hospice plans to introduce other activities such as painting, model making and researching family history and it hopes that within a couple of years it can open a shop to sell the items which the men have either grown or made.
However, it’s absolutely fine if all a man wants to do is sit and have a cup of tea with his new mates. The activities which take place will be led by the men.
“The relationships which men can build, in a way that is natural for them, can have huge health benefits and meet the unanswered needs which bereavement brings,” says Shaun.
Find out more about this project on the UK edition of ehospice.
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