The Howden Community Shed is set to launch this weekend.
It’s part of a long term project to 'make Howden an even better place to live’, and will provide a safe and busy environment where people can go to learn new skills or just put the world to rights with a cup of tea. The Shed is a Howden Action Group project and will officially open on Saturday, September 7.
Howden Action Group was born from a community effort that started during the Covid lockdowns. A spokesperson for the group said : “Our experiences during Covid have confirmed our decision to take this forward to address a number of very real needs in our town.” The Shed will have a separate male and female chapters, as well as open session, all sharing the same space and resources. Shed activities are wide ranging from making or mending in wood to things like metalwork, upholstery and bike repair. It is down to the ‘shedders’ to decide what the want to do with space! The Community Shed hopes to tackle the increase of lonely older people which they saw during the Covid pandemic. The group said they noticed how people, particularly older men, became detached from the community.
They said: “The problem is that men, in particular, have learned from our culture that they don’t talk about feelings and emotions and many do not take an interest in their own health and well-being and because of this, many men are less healthy than women, they drink more, take more risks and suffer more from isolation, loneliness and depression.” By joining the Shedding community, members will be able to meet up regularly with like-minded people sharing conversations, working on individual and group projects, learning new skills and practicing old one, more importantly finding a renewed sense of purpose. “With an ageing population, and increasing numbers of people feeling isolated and lonely, a Community Shed will be a vital social asset for our town. “We have widely canvassed people opinions on the need for this project, in a public meeting, by word of mouth and on social media, and we are confident that we will deliver a successful and sustainable project with benefits for anyone, of any age or gender, who wants to be with others, learn new skills or to simply sit down in a welcoming environment and have a chat.”
Members with valuable skills will be invited to share and each others. Passing the skill on to others and younger members of the community. The group say they eventually would like to offer training in traditional skills for younger people. If you already possess these skills, why not join to help keep the technique alive. The group say they also “intend to talk to local employers and schools to see if we can harness the years of skills and expertise that our membership will have to share traditional techniques (particularly in disciplines like carpentry) with their apprentices and older pupils. “When we are fully operational we would like to run weekend carpentry and DIY classes for the Howden population - sharing life learnt skills and earning much needed revenue for the project.” They also hope to set up initiatives like a bicycle maintenance and repair workshop aimed at a younger audience, and run an IT and computer training where young people can teach the older generation the basics of email, web browsing, filling in forms and other online activities that many still find difficult. The overall aim of the Community Shed is to bring together older and younger generations, pass on valuable skills, and keep the community together. If you would like to donate to help get the Shed up and running, or if you have any old tools, materials, or anything that you think could be of use to get the Shed going contact the Howden Action Group on howdenactiongroup@gmail.com or call 07774 729096 Members of Sheds come from all walks of life. The bond that unites them is that they are people with time on their hands and would like something meaningful to do with that time. (29-08-00 SU) (29-08-01 SU) (29-08-02 SU)