The Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA) – the national support hub for Men’s Shed groups across Scotland – has welcomed funding from the Scottish Government for the 2023-2024 financial year staving off fears of its impending closure this month.

Addressing the Association’s 3,300+ individual members and 146 Shed members across Scotland, SMSA Chief Executive Officer Jason Schroeder said: “First and foremost, we wish to express our sincere thanks to the 4,000+ supporters that signed our 38 Degrees petition and the 40+ cross-party Members of Scottish Parliament that co-signed our letter to appeal to the former First Minister and Deputy First Minister to reverse the decision to cut our funding.

“We did not get the level of funding that we require however we are delighted to have overturned this decision and overwhelmed by the backing received from our members, politicians and members of the public far and wide in addition to the local and national media for helping us raise awareness of our vital work and the need for the Association to exist to continue to support and grow this invaluable men’s health movement even further and reach more men across Scotland to combat social isolation, loneliness and boredom.

“The core funding received from the Scottish Government and several smaller funders has taken the pressure off, for now, enabling us to remain open for another financial year allowing us to continue supporting the movement and explore alternative funding sources – within and outwith the Scottish Government – to support our development plans. We not only need to keep the Association’s doors open but wish to expand the national hub to meet the needs of this rapidly growing movement – now with 202 Shed groups and a reach to 10,000+ men/volunteers in all 32 local authority areas across the nation – whilst striving to ensure preventative men’s health initiatives, like Men’s Sheds, are a top health priority.

“The future is looking bright with exciting plans and projects in the pipeline working with lots of new partners. We still have a long way to go but are moving in the right direction. Keep up the support – we can’t do this without you for the future of men’s health in our country.”

Listen to SMSA CEO Jason Schroeder’s video appeal on the SMSA You Tube Channel.

The Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA), the national support hub for Men’s Sheds across Scotland, today announces the appointment of a new Trustee. Francis Edwards brings three decades worth of health experience from working in the NHS and will represent Sheds in island communities.

Francis, a member of the newly-formed Sanday Men’s Shed in the Northern Isles of Orkney, is recently retired after 30 years of palliative care nursing within the NHS and hospice movement.

The appointment sees Francis join six long-standing Trustees to extend the SMSA’s reach of regional representation as the voice of the Men’s Sheds Movement across Scotland.

On the news of his appointment, Francis Edwards said: “I am delighted to be welcomed as an SMSA Trustee and further represent the Scottish Men’s Sheds Movement in Orkney.

“When I retired here to live the dream of island life, I joined Sanday Men’s Shed mainly for the fellowship but also to pick up a few DIY skills. In my early days of nursing, I was involved in setting up a ‘Well Men’s Clinic’ and, as a recent convert to the Men Shed Movement, feel that my background is a good fit with the SMSA’s values and mission.”

SMSA Chairman David Gardner said: “We are delighted to have Francis, and his wealth of skills and experience, on board and I am confident that he will be an invaluable asset to the Scottish Men’s Sheds Movement and the national hub that supports it. This appointment will allow us to support even more members – inevitably, reaching more men across the nation with the aim to raise awareness of Men’s Sheds, combat social isolation and loneliness and improve men’s health and wellbeing.”

SMSA Chief Executive Officer Jason Schroeder added: “As a membership organisation, all of our Trustees are Scottish Shedders that know the Men’s Shed model and its benefits inside out. They strive to ensure that the charity is effective, robust and financially capable of supporting the needs of our 3,200+ Individual Members and Shed Members across Scotland and develop strategies to further grow and support this thriving men’s health Movement.

“We are appealing for additional enthusiastic, dedicated and visionary Shedders to join our board to extend our regional representation even further. We are particularly keen to hear from individuals in the East and West Highlands, Edinburgh and Angus. The time commitment involved is quarterly Board meetings and an informal catch-up with Trustees. Expenses are reimbursed for visits to Sheds and representation at events. If this sounds like you, please do get in touch.”

The SMSA is reaching out to its members and the public to ask them to support its petition which will be sent to the First Minister for Scotland Nicola Sturgeon and Deputy First Minister for Scotland John Swinney.

This is a call for action for the Scottish Government to reverse their decision to stop core funding of the national association and a proposed start-up and development fund for Scottish Men’s Sheds like our counterparts benefit from in Australia and Ireland. 

Please sign this very important petition – it takes less than a minute – to improve men’s health and wellbeing in Scotland.

PLEASE SIGN & SHARE

We also urge you to please share this petition far and wide with family, friends and fellow supporters of the Men’s Sheds Movement in Scotland through word of mouth, meetings and through your social media accounts.  

Raise awareness with your MSP

The SMSA also urges Scottish Men’s Sheds to contact their MSP’s and send them a letter or use our template letter to raise awareness of this campaign.

What is the petition all about?

In a post-pandemic world, when reducing social isolation and loneliness and reconnecting with our communities once again is paramount, the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA) is making a call for action for the government to continue to financially support the national hub of the Scottish Men’s Sheds Movement and men’s health and wellbeing.

The SMSA was formed in 2014 to create a new national health movement for men which did not previously exist in Scotland and share their unique Men’s Shed development pathway strategy to new groups. Since 2016, the Association has expanded into: Shed-specific tailored information such as policies and constitutions; mediation support; consultation with a hard-to-reach group; promotion of the work of the sector; discounts from SMSA partners for Sheds to reduce costs; sustainability strategy advice; co-production for the voice of men’s health in a variety of sectors and Cross-Party groups; and a national membership programme for its Shed Members and 3,000+ Individual Members.

The SMSA’s initial start-up funding was received from the Scottish Government in 2016 but unlike the successful developmental statutory support of the Australian and Irish governments for their respective Men’s Shed movements, ours has been reduced over the years and now stopped.

We have been successful in attracting other funders in recent years to cover this shortfall however require statutory funding as the demand for services and support increases immensely. Despite a meeting with Scottish Government where the SMSA Chief Executive, SMSA Chairman and SMSA Patron, Sir Harry Burns (the former Chief Medical Officer for Scotland) appealed for increased support for the charity and the movement, the decision was unfortunately made in February 2022 by three Ministers (proposed new trilateral funding strategy) to rather stop all statutory funding to the SMSA going forward in 2023.

Now is not the time to abandon and disinvest in this successful men’s health movement that is voluntarily engaging with and reaching men and changing and saving lives. These volunteers need our support now more than ever as evidenced by the ever-increasing growth in our membership.  

As we near the 10-year anniversary of the opening of the first Men’s Shed in Scotland, we now celebrate over 200 open and developing Men’s Sheds groups across Scotland (in all 32 local authority areas) reaching and supporting 10,000+ men aged 18 or over. This year, we also welcomed the completion and findings of our four-year partnership with Glasgow Caledonian University’s research (£150,000) – Sheds for Sustainable Development Project.

Our three-year development plans (2023-2026) have taken into account this research and core statutory developmental funding is required if the movement is to not only continue to grow but remain sustainable for its volunteers and their health and wellbeing. We strongly believe that the current number of Men’s Sheds in Scotland (202) has only reached just under half (45%) of what it could be.

We, the undersigned, ask the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Scotland to take action to ensure the SMSA has the core funding required to meet the needs of this thriving men’s health movement in Scotland and to create a start-up and development fund, as per our manifesto, to offer to new and existing Men’s Sheds across the nation.
 

Why is it important?

With an alarming rise in suicide amongst Scottish men – 75% of the people who died by suicide in Scotland last year were male – and with already-stretched resources and reduced funding as demand for our services increases, the SMSA is lobbying for a directional change to ensure the charity is around to support future generations of Shedders and keep the spotlight on men’s health.   
The SMSA pledges to continue making a real difference by empowering thousands of men (our sons, brothers, fathers, uncles and grandfathers) and their communities – over the coming years – to play their part in a system change towards a wellbeing economy.

By trailblazing this male health movement as we have from the beginning, we strive for social change to ultimately secure its future growth and the national statutory investment it rightly deserves.

Kinross and District Men’s Shed’s Chairman David Conner said: “The SMSA has been a wonderful support and a great centre of information and advice. Without the SMSA, it is safe to say, we and some other local Sheds would not exist without their help steering us in the right direction—through the obstacles and bureaucracy that is thrown at you especially when starting something new— and enabling us to become self-sufficient.”
 
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