Medway Men in Sheds - a scheme commissioned by A Better Medway has been hosting a range of activities for any man to get involved in.
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00:00 These sheds are where men in Medway can come together to socialise, take part in different
00:04 activities and make friends. Medway Men in Sheds is a scheme which hopes to better men's
00:10 wellbeing by opening up their doors. Aaron has been part of this group for four months
00:15 and says the scheme has completely transformed his mental health.
00:19 It's done wonders for me. I was like a recluse. The only time I'd go out of my house or bungalow
00:29 would be when I go shopping with my carer. I would never go out. I didn't have, I've
00:33 got no friends since my accident and I was just lonely, depressed. So I decided to go
00:39 just to see what it's all about and it's turned my life around, completely turned my
00:44 life around from what it was before to now. I look forward to every Wednesday and Friday
00:49 as I can't wait to get out of the house and I think it's the best thing I've done since
00:54 I've been in a chair.
00:56 Although this is where Aaron spends most of his time now, for others it was their first
01:01 session.
01:02 I decided to join Men in Sheds because of my mental health. My mental health liaison
01:09 officer told me about Men in Sheds and I thought it was a good idea, I rang them up and it's
01:15 all going to help me for my mental health. Just by learning from other people who are
01:19 also on the same programme, yeah, learning from them what they want to do, what they
01:25 don't want to do.
01:26 Today's session is a woodwork session and you can see the smiles and hear the chatter
01:30 of everyone taking part. Through these activities that Medway Men in Sheds hosts, it hopes to
01:35 improve men's mental health.
01:38 It's quite easy for guys to get isolated, particularly if they're tired or if they're
01:42 out of work. And isolation is a killer. We find that with some of the guys that come
01:47 along here it makes so much of a difference. And there's not many places like this, you
01:50 know, community centres where you can go for free and make friends. A lot of the time it's
01:57 not me that's helping them, it's the group that's helping each other. There's a lot of
02:01 power in the human spirits that come along here, so there's a lot of people that resonate
02:06 really well with each other and that's a really healthy thing that helps people get through
02:12 the day and that's why people keep coming here because it's good fun.
02:16 While people like Aaron and Ian say meeting new people and staying active has had a positive
02:20 effect on their health, it can often be hard to take the first step towards change, something
02:25 Medway Men in Sheds are hoping to make easier.
02:28 Mahima Abedin for KMTV in Gillingham.