SUNDRE – The first steps toward establishing a foundation upon which a local Men’s Shed might be built have been taken.
A half dozen people attended on Thursday, Oct. 10 an initial gathering to gauge community interest in a Sundre Men’s Shed that was hosted at The Den with the meeting space made available courtesy of Greenwood Neighbourhood Place Society.
Paul Shippy, a local mental health therapist and advocate who helped line up arrangements for the meeting, started the discussion by briefly recapping the history behind the movement.
It has roots that date back decades in Australia where a group of retired miners found themselves socially isolated and craving the kind of camaraderie they once derived from work combined with a desire be productive while contributing back to their community.
“It met a lot of kind of social, emotional and purpose-driven needs that men have,” said Shippy.
The idea is to create another place where men can get together and bond outside of the home and workplace by constructively pursuing a range of projects.
“It seems like it’s quite an obvious need for those who would like a third space,” he said.
“Sometimes you need a third space where you can go and just be; and it’s nice to have something for those who want to be and do with other men,” he said.
His hope for the meeting was to determine the level of interest and whether anyone might even be inclined to step into positions that would establish a board which in turn could “build the bones” of a local Men’s Shed.
Shippy said a local couple had for the time being generously offered the use of a workshop on their property in town if there proved to be a desire to start up the initiative.
“If you have a place to meet and if you can create the bones of an organization, then you’ve got everything you need to kind of catch and get things moving,” he said.
Tom Boucher, who secured seed funding through a Men’s Sheds Canada grant and presented alongside Shippy, said that when a person eventually retires, “You lose all your camaraderie, all of the good jokes that come up.”
While Boucher said he envisions eventually building a maker-space from the ground up, a Men’s Shed can be as simple as a place to get together to chat politics over coffee.
“I think that third space is where you can gain back that getting together with men and saying whatever you want,” he said.
Shippy added the direction the initiative might take hinges entirely on what those who join are interested in.
“Are we going to meet for coffee and politics, or are we going to be using it more for building bird houses and picnic tables,” he said. “What would people actually like it to look like?”
Boucher added there’s really no limits.
“That’s the beauty of the Men’s Shed; we can make it do whatever we want,” he said.
Shippy said having a space available is already a really good start.
“I do like the idea of the workshop space where you come and you can do things,” he said. “We can do while we talk, and do while we joke; but doing is a part of things. It just gives you a lot more scope if you wanted to (for example) build planter boxes.”
He suggested getting started by establishing times that would work best for everyone with a few ground rules such as no drugs or alcohol and to otherwise allow the organization to evolve organically.
Boucher added some groups embrace a sort of democratic approach with someone pitching an idea for a project that is then voted on.
“And everyone has to be onboard with that idea, otherwise they wouldn’t do it,” he said.
While that often involves woodworking, Shippy said there exists plenty of potential to pursue other directions depending on the different kinds of skills members might bring to the table.
Some suggestions that were later brought up by others who attended – like Dan Sarty, who lent a hand with the renovations at The Den – included the idea of helping out people in the community who might need a hand with a minor repair such as fixing up a gate that isn’t quite working right.
That raised the consideration of liability, to which Shippy said could potentially be worked around by operating under an umbrella organization like GNP, while Boucher mentioned Men’s Sheds Canada is exploring options to provide coverage.
As for costs, Boucher mentioned the possibility of joining Men’s Sheds Alberta, which only involves an initial fee that provides members with a customized shirt.
“After that, there’s no fee – it’s free. You’re going to have to work for it, which should be OK. I’ve got some ideas,” he said.
Shippy added that grants would also potentially be available provided there were members willing to form a board.
“If you can get charitable status then you can apply for grants,” he said.
But taking things one step at a time, a consistent time and place to meet is key to making such plans.
Among those in attendance was Kelson Bastien, who a few years ago moved to Sundre from Airdrie with his partner into a home boasting an insulated detached shop with a modestly-sized workspace.
“I would be happy to open that space up for a Men’s Shed. It’s not huge, but it is a decent space,” Bastien said, adding there are numerous wood working tools available and that he’d be happy to offer the space as a starting point.
“It’s as good as I could have ever hoped for for a place to start,” said Shippy, adding it’s very kind of Bastien to offer up the space.
Although Boucher said he would be willing to serve as treasurer, he added there would need to be a chair and secretary as well. Shippy also suggested the possibility of operating under co-chairs to share the responsibility of leadership.
Dick Ross, who was among those interested in the idea, asked Shippy and Boucher what kind of turnout they had anticipated for the initial meeting.
“I wasn’t expecting more. I’m really happy with this turnout, because this is about what you need,” said Shippy.
Having previously tried starting up other initiatives, Shippy said, “If it’s more than me and one other person then it’s a raging success, and this is that already.”
As the program gets more established, Shippy said he would be able to begin referring people he meets that would benefit from having a place to go work on a project alongside others.
“What I’ve found in this community is that sometimes what people just need is kindness and a place to be heard, seen and supported,” he said. “You would think that that would be easy, but it’s not.”
Sarty said he would invite a few friends and recognized that a person can sometimes get stuck in a rut of just going to work and back home afterward without either the interest or ability to afford going out.
The group went on to exchange contact information to line up a follow-up organizational meeting and then shared a few conversations over coffee and donuts.
Join the Men’s Shed Sundre page on Facebook to get connected and follow the group’s progress or email [email protected] to learn more.
