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“Men’s Sheds are not just fixing furniture and building toys, they are fixing men and building communities”
The Mount Barker Men’s Shed was set up in 2014 by Mount Barker Community Centre with the support of Mount Barker District Council and Mount Barker Rotary Club. Members can choose to work on their own projects or help with projects to support the Men’s Shed and Community. Members are also welcome to use the Men’s Shed as a social environment where they can have a chat and a cup of coffee with new friends. Workshop open Tuesday to Thursday 9:30am to 2:30pm 100 Springs Road, Mount Barker Phone: 0439 827 046 
What is a Men’s Shed?
The modern Men’s Shed is an updated version of the shed in the backyard, which has long been an important part of Australian culture. Men’s Sheds are springing up all over Australia. If you visited one today you could see Men restoring furniture, fixing toys, building a cubby house or repairing bicycles. You might also see Men from different age groups working together on community projects. You may also see tea bags and coffee cups and Men sitting around having a chat. So what is so special about this new type of Men’s Shed? Many men have learned from our culture that they don’t talk about feelings and emotions. There has been little encouragement for men to take an interest in their own health and well-being. Unlike women, many men are reluctant to talk about their emotions and that means that they usually don’t ask for help. Probably because of this many men are less healthy than women, they drink more, take more risks and they suffer more from isolation, loneliness and depression. Relationship breakdown, retrenchment or early retirement from a job, loss of children following divorce, physical or mental illness are just some of the problems that men find it hard to deal with on their own. Good health is based on many factors including feeling good about yourself, being productive and valuable to your community, connecting to friends and maintaining an active body and an active mind. Becoming a member of a Men’s Shed gives men a safe and busy environment where they can find many of these things in an atmosphere of old-fashioned mateship. And, importantly, there is no pressure. Men can just come and have a yarn and a cuppa if that is all they’re looking for. Members of Men’s Sheds come from all walks of life - the bond that unites them is that they are men with time on their hands who would like something meaningful to do with that time. 
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