The Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA) is celebrating reaching a significant milestone on International Men’s Day by welcoming its 2,000th individual member.

International Men’s Day, on the 19th November each year, celebrates the positive value men bring to the world, their families and communities – putting the spotlight on positive role models and raising awareness of men’s wellbeing.  Men’s Sheds provide community-based places to connect men through activities and social interaction and epitomise what International Men’s Day is all about.   

Brian Tait, Chairperson of Dalkeith Men’s Shed – which opened its doors at Dalkeith Thistle FC to Shedders within six weeks of its first public meeting – registered as the 2,000th individual member of the SMSA.  Mr Tait said: “By becoming an individual member of the SMSA – and also Dalkeith Men’s Shed becoming an official Shed Member – we can already see the benefits and our members are very keen to be involved in the growth of this movement.”

Jason Schroeder, Executive Officer at the SMSA and co-founder of the first Men’s Shed in Scotland in Aberdeenshire back in 2013, said: “We are delighted to see the advancement in this grass roots men’s health movement which recognises men from all walks of life and the contribution they make to society.  In addition to our 2,000 supporters, Dalkeith Men’s Shed is amongst almost 200 Sheds in Scotland that can access a wealth of support, guidance and resources through SMSA to assist with their development and aid in our aim to reduce social isolation and improve the health and wellbeing of men.”

The SMSA exists to inspire and support Shedders (age 18+) to create Men’s Sheds across Scotland.  The Association draws on its extensive experience to support new and existing groups seeking to develop and sustain a Men’s Shed through the provision of information, advice and guidance to make them operate as smoothly as possible in the local community. 

The Association enables information sharing, communication and co-operation amongst Men’s Sheds in Scotland through ‘The Scottish Shedder’ magazine, interactive website, social media channels and community-based events and workshops (regarding good practice in advancing the education, health and wellbeing of men).  It is free to become an individual member of SMSA and receive regular information updates and access to its online resource library and full Men’s Shed membership (with various benefits and discounts included) is only £25 per year.

Glasgow Caledonian University is presently busy with a 3 year research project about Scottish Men’s Sheds sustainability and the health impacts on those men attending Men’s Sheds. Fifteen months into the research please find attached their first official output from the project. This is a short briefing report outlining the main sustainability and development challenges that Sheds are facing in Scotland, based on data collected.

Showing the increasing need of what the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association delivers on and why we need more investment and support in 2019 in this under represented male health movement.

Click to download

Men’s Sheds Sustainability Briefing Report – March 2019

If you have been waiting for the findings of this research from various Men’s Sheds in Scotland, its now available from the Age Scotland website :  The Shed Effect and for our individual members which is free to join ( join-smsa ) you can access it in our online Resource library under the Research section.

There is not much research done on Men’s Health in Scotland  and so all efforts like this really helps us formulate a better picture of the male landscape and to show that there is a real need for male based solutions in helping men particularly with time on their hands for whatever reason to stay happy, healthy and engaged in their communities.