Plans for a Men’s Shed in Wyndham Vale have come to fruition.
After witnessing the work of the Werribee Men’s Shed in 2014, a group of Wyndham Vale men wanted something similar for their suburb.
A state government grant of $16,000 has funded the fitting of an existing site at Wyndham Vale Reserve, making it the temporary home of the new Men’s Shed group.
Shed secretary Kyren Thornwoods says the group is already actively involved in the community, making wooden toys for the Royal Children’s Hospital, working with newly arrived migrants from Burma, and other projects.
“This [funding] will go a long way in establishing the Men’s Shed and assisting men who are retired or retrenched in the area,” Mr Thornwoods said.
“With the closure of manufacturing in the western suburbs, a lot of skills are sitting idle. This is a way of using their skills in the community to help while in the company of other men.”
Werribee MP Tim Pallas, visiting the site last Friday during Mental Health Week, said Men’s Sheds were great community organisations directed to improving men’s health and wellbeing.
“We do congregate together in our genders,” Mr Pallas said.
“Sometimes we confide in people in the circumstances where we feel most comfortable. We do enjoy the company of men while doing stuff that comes naturally to us.
“[Men’s Sheds] are a place where you can have sanctuary, solitude, the opportunity to congregate and enjoy each other’s company.”
