Hammering home support for Yea Men's Shed

YEA Men’s Shed will receive over $34,000 to extend the existing mezzanine in their shed thanks to a Victorian Government grant. Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes last week announced that 11 Men’s Sheds across the region will share in over $430,000 to upgrade facilities and bring more volunteers together. “The volunteers who run Men’s Sheds in in regional Victoria make an enormous contribution to their local communities, and we're proud to support them to continue this work for years to come,” Ms Symes said. Men’s sheds provide safe, friendly places for men from all backgrounds to build connections, learn skills and boost their health and wellbeing. These organisations play a key role in reducing social isolation and supporting mental health, particularly in regional and rural communities. Rob Hallas, Secretary of the Yea Men’s Shed, said that the “members of the Yea Men’s Shed are quite ecstatic.” He explained that the grant application was submitted earlier this year by Murrindindi Shire Council’s grants department on behalf of the Yea Men’s Shed, working in collaboration. “They were most helpful giving us a hand to get this grant through,” Rob said. The $34,874 provided by the grant is 80 per cent of the funding required, with Yea Men’s Shed fronting the other 20 per cent, worth around $6000. “The grant is to provide an extension to the existing mezzanine in the Yea Men’s Shed, which also provides for air conditioning in the upper mezzanine space,” Rob explained. “Previously we've used that area just for storage and more recently we received another grant or a partial grant for the container that's now at the main shed which we've been able to relocate our timber storage to. “That allows us to utilise the space upstairs for other activities for the men.” The Yea Men’s Shed is conscientiously trying to provide an extra space for people with different hobbies to timber working and metal working, such as things to do with computers, or model making, etcetera. “The lunchroom downstairs is great for a community lunchroom, but not necessarily a good private area for playing games or having a private chat or something for men’s health,” Rob said. “The other issue is we’ve been a victim of our own success in so much that we’ve virtually doubled our membership in the last 18 months or so. “We’ve been really struggling for space and if every member turned up, we couldn’t accommodate them. This is why we’ve sought the expansion to our facilities to try and best accommodate them and to ensure that we can provide a safe environment for those men,” Rob finished.