{"id":81355,"date":"2024-02-02T13:46:52","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T13:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?p=81355"},"modified":"2024-02-06T16:45:49","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T16:45:49","slug":"the-splott-diy-shed-thats-influencing-help-for-mens-mental-health-in-the-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2024\/02\/02\/the-splott-diy-shed-thats-influencing-help-for-mens-mental-health-in-the-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"The Splott DIY shed that’s influencing help for men’s mental health in the UK"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The men’s sheds movement has been running for years but now three friends in Cardiff are doing it differently <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

DO you need an actual shed to run a men’s shed? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concept of creating ‘men’s sheds’ as a place for blokes to get together and do some DIY to help combat mental health issues and help the community has been a popular one in the UK. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what happens if men who want to create a shed don’t have a physical property to use? And what about people who aren’t men?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The founders of goodShed in Splott didn’t let those problems get in their way and they now run a ‘shed’ as a pop-up, rather than from a permanent base – and it’s open to anyone to join in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those differences from the traditional model of running the sheds has caught the attention of the UK Men\u2019s Sheds Association<\/a>, which contacted them to see how their model might work in other places. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey want to expand the Men\u2019s Sheds movement but not specifically in the traditional way of a shed full of woodworking tools,” said Shed founder Richard Melhuish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey want to try and show that our model could work in other places so you don\u2019t have to have a shed somewhere because in some communities it would be more difficult for people to organise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe idea is that men are notoriously bad at talking about their own health, but if they\u2019re standing shoulder to shoulder making something they\u2019re more likely to talk to other people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It\u2019s very valuable and it really does a lot of good for the guys who go there but we try and do something different.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goodShed is nominally based at Railway Gardens, a community hub and green space on the site of a derelict playground. The hub, run by the organisation Green Squirrel, hosts a variety of independent businesses run from shipping containers – and a Library of Things<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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