In the final part of our three-part series on old men and loneliness, Shereen Ali looks at Men's Sheds, a way to keep men connected. The idea started in Australia and has spread to other countries like the UK and Ireland. The Shed brings together men, boys and even some women to take part in activities and pass on knowledge.
Men's Sheds have sprung up all over Australia–and have spread from there to New Zealand, England, Ireland and elsewhere–as a successful way to keep men connected.
The whole idea began in the land Down Under, where the humble backyard shed has traditionally been a safe place for men to relax, indulging in unique obsessions and quiet hobbies which add meaning to their lives. Whether it's making furniture or refurbishing an old car with a pile of used parts, fixing bicycles or trying out an aquaponics gardening experiment, shed activities have given many men a way to find self-expression and satisfaction in their own space–away from the domestic organisation of wives. Whether it's a place for reflection or a very social space, sheds have been where many men can chat and share knowledge with others: a unique place in Australian culture.
Male-friendly spaces
The Men's Sheds movement in Australia borrowed this idea to create a male-friendly space for older men to come together to work on projects as a way to promote men's health. Each shed is autonomous, and local men decide how it is run, what activities they do, and where and when they meet. They can be set up in a community centre, a house or even a traditional shed.
In the process of doing projects, the men meet other people, develop new interests and find a new space to relax and socialise. The idea took off, and in the late 1990s, hundreds of Men's Sheds sprung up all over Australia.
They soon expanded to include men of all ages. In the UK, many similar Sheds started with very little funding, as simple self-help groups asking the public for donations of simple equipment–such as old tools–to get them started.By April 2007, The Australian Men's Shed Association (AMSA) was set up to act as a resource centre for all Sheds in that country, to promote the idea of Independent Community Men's Sheds. And the Australian government began to help with some funding as a way to promote men's health.
From carpentry to drumming
While many Shed groups have focused on carpentry or metalwork projects, others have made short films, organised community barbecues, run drumming classes, made Christmas toys for charities, repaired bicycles and fixed old lawnmowers–anything, really, that the local men in an area are keen on. Young men or even boys may work with the older men, learning new skills and maybe also learning something about life from the men with whom they work.Whereas Australian Sheds have usually been for older men, many UK Sheds groups include males of all ages–from six to 96, there are no age limits. Many now admit women, too, who are interested in the projects."You will see tea-bags, coffee cups and a comfortable area where men can sit and talk. You will probably also see an area where older men can learn to cook for themselves or they can learn how to contact their families by computer," explains the Australian Men's Shed Association (AMSA) on its website.
Men don't talk about feelings
AMSA explains on their website that most men have learned from their culture that men don't talk about feelings and emotions. So men usually don't ask for help. Our own Division of Aging supports this opinion."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," says AMSA.
The Men's Sheds movement helps to address this by providing a safe place with no pressure, where men can be productive, feel good about themselves, connect with friends and keep an active body and mind. They provide meeting places where elderly and even younger men can find social support and camaraderie. AMSA now includes over 1,000 sheds in Australia, in what has become a successful way to combat isolation in older men and encourage social inclusion of men of all ages.It's an idea that may work well in T&T.
Local senior centres:Apart from the social meeting places of rumshops, racing pools and old boys' clubs of various kinds, which offer only limited (sometimes unhealthy) activities, there are currently 11 state-run Senior Activity Centres in Trinidad.The Division of Ageing says while these senior centres do a "good job of supporting the elderly in their communities," they face constraints of funding and size, which limits the introduction of new classes or the expansion of existing programmes. The Division also notes that to meet some seniors' needs, they need more therapists and social workers.
Top five recommendations for men over 65 from the Division of Ageing are:
�2 Focus on maintaining good overall health.
�2 Join a Senior Activity Centre or another type of social group.
�2 Try learning a new skill or adopt a new hobby.
�2 Learn new technology such as computers/tablets to communicate with others.
�2 Reconnect with old friends and family.
Tips for having a healthy old age:Start when you're young!
Lesley Garcia is programme director of Hibiscus Place, a private day centre for seniors in Petit Valley. The centre offers a range of physical and cognitive activities, recreation and leisure, self-care training, outings, and community linkages for senior citizens. Garcia, who is an occupational therapist specialising in gerontology, said we don't have to wait until we get older to start thinking about that part of life. Here are her tips for leading a more balanced, healthier old age.
�2 Develop interests outside of work, to connect with people as well as get more meaning in your life.
�2 Volunteer at clubs, charities–at any age.
�2 Develop something you are passionate about.
�2 Keep yourself interested and interesting. The secret is variety. Don't do just one thing, eg just exercise, or just play football–do several things, meet different kinds of people. Find activities that appeal to your social, spiritual and intellectual sides. In that way, you'll live more balanced lives.
�2 Cultivate younger friends! When you're in your 50s, have friends in their 40s and 30s. That way, when you no longer drive, you'll have younger friends who do!
The TTARP
The T&T Association for Retired Persons (TTARP), with headquarters at 45 Tragarete Road in Port-of-Spain (tel: 622-9223), is a social organisation that first and foremost, helps to enhance the finances of seniors (50 and over) by giving discounts on a range of products and services, whether at the grocery, the pharmacy or on the bus. The Association also helps meet some social needs of seniors throughout T&T, although often, more women than men come out.
TTARP has divided T&T into 11 zones, and runs community activities in each, based on what the community members in each region identify. Past activities have included cruises, trips to Panama, Barbados and Curacao, and inland trips to interesting T&T places such as the Caroni Bird Sanctuary, beach outings to Toco or Salybia, turtle watching trips, and trips to the Santa Cruz Green Market and other places of interest. Some groups have organised mall hopping trips; others have regular monthly limes. In August, TTARP held a successful All Fours Fiesta all day one Saturday.
TTARP is hosting a Christmas lunch on November 30 at the Hyatt, while different branch groups of TTARP are holding other Christmas lunches in their regions."We were fashioned after the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons, founded 1958), based in Washington, DC," said Mayling Yunglao, honorary secretary of TTARP, yesterday."We lobby for senior issues," said Yunglao. "We service 32,000 financial members, and we mount social functions throughout Trinidad. But because our office is very small in PoS, we cannot do anything here. Instead, we help organise social functions in different zones in T&T, to identify and build community activities."