Forth Valley Men's Shed shows off tools to tackle isolation amid funding concerns

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Even on a cold and frosty January morning there is still a buzz at the small industrial unit where the members of Forth Valley Men’s Shed meet for one of their regular meet-ups.The small group of ‘shedders’ in attendance are scattered all over the place, some sweating away at woodworking or other projects while others enjoy sharing jokes and banter over a cup of tea in the social room.The Alloa-based organisation, which welcomes members from all over the region including in Stirling, offers a vital sanctuary for men to be able to open up, make friends and find a fresh focus at a time when men’s mental health is a hot-button topic.The work of Men’s Sheds across Scotland has come into sharp focus in recent weeks after it emerged the Scottish Government was set to pull £75,000 of funding for the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA) from April this year.The decision was recently criticised as “short-sighted” and “appalling” by Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Alexander Stewart.Chairman Kenny Quinn told the Observer: “The ironic thing about losing the funding is that the SMSA is losing the support because they say it is going into the NHS but we are providing that service to people.“The big thing for us is male suicide, the numbers are tilted back in favour of being more positive for the age groups that we deal with but it’s still a huge problem.“The SMSA is the guiding light to Men’s Sheds – two guys can have an idea to have a shed and they tell you how to do it and very quickly that network can build itself into a shed.”The Forth Valley shed has been going since 2016, with around 50 to 60 members attending at some point over its three meetings a week, even if only for a few hours.Kenny explained: “The whole ethos of Men’s Sheds