Hello to both Shedders and supporters – welcome to this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week. Mental Health Awareness Week runs from the 9th-15th May and this year’s theme is loneliness.
Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 – Mental Health UK
We have a couple of stories to share this week about how some Sheds have been taking positive steps to promote supporting mental health, and how they encourage their Shedders to have honest conversations about how they are feeling. We wanted to highlight a few Sheds that are making a difference and share this with you, today we bring you Cramlington Man Shed.
Cramlington Man Shed – Northumberland
The Cramlington Man Shed in Northumberland was started by 39-year-old Alan Mertsch as a result of his own experiences with anxiety, which he found worsened throughout the pandemic.
Alan moved back into the Cramlington area to live with his dad Norman after losing his mum two years ago. After the move Alan and Norman set to work starting the Shed. The Shed is now a registered charity and has a waiting list of new members wanting to join.
“We have had a lot of women interested too so we are thinking of doing a women’s Shed one day a week. Now we have become a registered charity I am reaching out to local businesses to sponsor us. Fingers crossed we can access some funding and secure a bigger place and help more men in our community.”
Alan is open about his own experiences with anxiety and says that by sharing his story with members, it can help Shedders open up to him or other members if they need to.
Alan said “When new members look to join our Shed I spend about an hour with them having a cuppa and a chat. What I have found is if I open up about my own personal struggles with anxiety it often encourages them to open up about their experiences with their mental health. I always make sure to tell them that it helps to talk about these issues and that if they ever need to talk about their struggles, they can chat to me and not to feel ashamed about it. We all struggle with mental health; I think over the last couple of years most people would have had some mental health problems.”
Along with traditional woodwork and craft Alan is planning other ways in which Shedders can come and relax at the Shed.
“We plan to have a canteen area, a photography studio, a little shop, a chill out area for our gents that have PTSD so they can go somewhere calm and relaxing, and a nice outdoor space with picnic tables and a BBQ area.”
Alan said he knows the importance of Sheds providing places to come together for activity and a place to talk if needed.
“We have members that travel 20 miles to come to our man shed as some other Sheds have closed down in our area due to lack of funds which is sad to hear. I have found out about the happiness it brings helping other men struggling with their mental health. It is worth it as you can see them come out their shells; it’s amazing to see what a difference Sheds make.”
You can see more of Cramlington Men’s Shed, and hear more from Alan in this article featured in Chronicle Live – Cramlington father and son duo open community Man Shed to help with mental health.
