A Men’s Shed is similar to a traditional Shed in its nature, in as much as it is a space full of tools and projects. However, there is one key difference:
You’re never alone at a Men’s Shed.
It’s been well publicised that men are at greater risk of loneliness or unwanted isolation than women.
At a local level it has been identified that men simply aren’t as well engaged when it comes to (non-sporting) clubs, groups or other social/community initiatives when compared to women.
In recent times this situation has been further exacerbated by the Covid 19 pandemic which saw the country being put into Lockdown twice in less then 18 months, causing extended and damaging periods of personal isolation.
Nationally, 1 in 5 men die before the age of 65 and this statistic has been unchanging for almost a decade.
This is why the Men’s Shed movement and the Essex Shed Network are focused on improving the health and wellbeing of men.*
The Essex Shed Network is a partnership between Maldon & District CVS and CVS Uttlesford and funded by National Lottery’s Community Fund. Established in 2016 our aim is to provide support to organisations or private individuals within Essex wishing to set up a Men’s Shed, whilst also providing help to existing Sheds to ensure their sustainability.
We do this by sharing our knowledge and expertise, accumulated through first hand experience of establishing, setting up and hosting some of the first Men’s Sheds in Essex (such as Maldon and Cressing Temple Community Sheds). We provide help with funding applications, governance, health and safety, drawing up codes of conduct and more. We arrange training as well as regular events which bring Shedders from across the county together, to share their knowledge and experiences with each other and ultimately strengthen the Network for all.
*Community Sheds which welcome women are available in the network, take a look at our map to find them.
