Why this Men’s Shed opened its doors to the Lower Mainland

The double-doors to the beige and brown shed swing wide open, inviting men of all ages to take a peek inside. 

Inside the shed, located on the western edge of Rocky Point Park and next to the PoMo Museum, are tools — screwdrivers, hammers, slabs of wood — and woodworking machinery. 

Normally, the Port Moody Men’s Shed, an initiative that started in 2022 and invites men to work with tools and combat feelings of loneliness as they age, is filled with locals who meet up weekly to catch up and work on a handyman project together. 

But last weekend, the site was a hub for more than 70 people from Men’s Sheds across the Lower Mainland to trade tools, socialize and learn new tricks. 

“There’s benefits from sheds being able to get together with one another,” said Mike Jennings, a member of the Port Moody Men’s Shed and president of the Men’s Shed Association of B.C. “Ideas are shared, but more importantly, it’s just the camaraderie, everybody talking to one another, sharing a hamburger, it just brings everything together.” 

The event also came amid a time when the popularity of Men’s Sheds is growing in B.C.

Men from as far away as Squamish and the Fraser Valley came to Port Moody to socialize at the informal gathering, Jennings said. The only formal portion of the get-together was a wood turning demo — a woodworking skill that uses a lathe, a rotating tool, to shape pieces of wood into round objects like a bowl or candlestick. 

As many other sheds have a lathe and similar woodworking projects it was something that illustrated how Men’s Sheds can serve as a breeding ground to bring like-minded people — who may be more prone to loneliness — together to hone each other’s crafts. 

“The guy that was doing it for was a very skilled wood turner and he was sharing his secrets,” Jennings said. “We were delighted with the atmosphere.”

The Men’s Shed movement began in Australia in the 1990s. The first shed was opened by a woman whose father became depressed following a heart attack that kept him from working. 

The Australian government held a conference to improve men’s health and reduce depression risks for seniors. After the conference, Men’s Sheds popped up across the country and globe. 

There are more than 1,200 sheds in Australia and about 100 across Canada. 

Roughly half of those sheds are located in B.C. The number of B.C.-based sheds has continued to grow in recent years, jumping from 23 in 2022 to nearly 50 this year, according to data from Men’s Sheds Canada.

“We can tell how great the need is by how easy it is for us to start a new Men’s Shed. We can virtually go into any community and start a Men’s Shed,” said Jennings, who suggested the growth is due to the need for social organizations that may cater specifically toward men.  

“It doesn’t matter who you talk to: health authorities, municipalities, MLAs, MPs, they all know how urgent the need is.” 

The fact that many men struggle to talk about their feelings is not new. 

Men may feel pressure to hide their vulnerabilities due to societal norms, or in fear of appearing week or ‘unmanly.’   

In 2019, a study from Movember found that one third of men felt pressure to be manly, while a study from 2022 reported that almost half of working-age men met criteria for being clinically depressed.

A recent U.S. study also found that the number of men who reported no close friendships rose from three to 15 per cent between 1990 and 2021. 

Men’s Sheds help older men — a segment of the population that once had the highest suicide rate in the U.S. — make friendships and important connections later in life. (Men’s Sheds are open to young men too, but it’s primarily older men who frequent the sheds.) 

To instil a sense of camaraderie, Men’s Sheds work on their own individual projects to help the community. 

In recent years, Port Moody, for example, has made bird houses for purple martins and bee houses for mason bees, Jennings said. Across town, Coquitlam’s Men’s Shed — which was originally founded in 2015 — has also built birdhouses for elementary school students.

Men’s Sheds across the Lower Mainland frequently contact each other during the year, Jennings said. But following the Port Moody event, he said he hopes there will be more multi-shed interactions that create new bonds and tool tips in the future.

“It’s sheds getting to know sheds.” Jennings said. “These gatherings are special.”