The purpose of the Charter is to engage everyone in the craft sector with the tools and opportunities to improve wellbeing, create positive environments and transform lives. Our partners include the Zero Suicide Alliance and Men’s Health Forum, who with others will help create partnerships that will transform and save lives.
Men’s Sheds save lives, reduce anxiety, depression and loneliness, at the same time they are creating incredible things.
The pandemics of anxiety, depression and loneliness preceded Covid and continue to grow with devastating impact on our society.
Many diseases and conditions, do not discriminate across gender, race, geography however, when it comes to our mental health, there is a greater impact on men as a result of how society engages with them. If this were not the case we would not see men being four times more likely to die by suicide than women and we would certainly not see suicide as the single biggest killer of men under the age of 46 in the UK.
The Charter being launched at the House of Commons hopes to bring together organisations and companies across the DIY and Craft sectors with the third sector and Men’s Sheds to identify bespoke programmes to support the wellbeing of customers, staff and the general public.
We are inviting people, organisations and companies to sign the charter, take time to think about mental health and how they can improve it with people they meet, their customers, employees and colleagues
There are many opportunities to improve wellbeing in your communities and this could be through joining or a Men’s Shed or taking up the offer of free online training with the Zero Suicide Alliance.
‘It is vitally important that as a sector we tackle wellbeing. We want to change the conversation from ‘if only we had heard about Men’s Sheds our friend would still be with us’ to ‘Men’s Sheds saved their lives’.
To sign up to the Charter and to find out more about Men’s Sheds visit https://menssheds.org.uk/charter-for-wellbeing-in-craft-and-diy/
A huge thank you to all the Sheds who have signed the Charter and promoted it to their local newspapers and on social media. We can all do our part, strengthen the Shed movement, transform and save lives.