Opawa on path to Men's Shed

Moves are underway to get a Men's Shed for Opawa.

Men's Sheds are meeting places and workshops particularly for the retired, and the proposal for a shed for Opawa is supported by the Spreydon-Heathcote Community Board.

A group hoping to establish the shed this year has met the board, and is talking to another community organisation about sharing its premises.

Spokesman Keith Jenkin, a retired joiner who lived in Opawa for 27 years before moving to Heathcote, said many men had shown interest in the proposal and he expected more interest when the shed was set up.

The Men's Shed movement started in Australia, and Canterbury now has 22 - half the New Zealand total.

Every men's shed was different, said Mr Jenkin. Some were treated as drop-in centres, others quickly set up a workshop, and some were tied in with community gardens.

"Pretty much anything goes - if members have particular skills they quite often follow these,'' he said.

Most of the members tended to be retired men, and older tradesmen were often keen to pass on their knowledge of trades which were sometimes dying out.

A lot of men retired with no hobbies lined up, and some wanted to learn new skills like woodwork, he said.

Quite a lot of retired men in the area had no niche of their own or circle of friends, or were living solitarily in council cottages.

The Opawa group has spoken to another south Christchurch community organisation about using its premises, and Mr Jenkin said he hoped something would be set up before the end of the year.

Martin Cox of the Canterbury Men's Centre, the Canterbury co-ordinator for Men's Sheds, said nearly 100,000 men were using them in Australia.

"That's a huge population for research, and it's been found that social isolation, suicide, and depression are very, very low compared to the same demographic outside the Shed movement.

"It's about men connecting.''

All the Christchurch sheds were involved in community activities, including helping pre-schools make things and helping community gardens by building things like garden sheds.

The Kaiapoi shed had started "Rubble Rousers'', which worked like Gap Filler making items such as planter boxes.

• People interested in being involved with the Opawa shed should contact Keith Jenkin, phone 376 4501.