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November 29, 2022
Makes no sense
This summer, the Scottish Parliament debated the growth of Scotland’s Men’s Shed movement. Not so much a debate as a long line of MSPs queuing up to praise their local sheds and the work of the umbrella body – SMSA – that supports the 200+ sheds around the country. Their cost effective and highly effective contribution to the country’s health and wellbeing is beyond question and yet an inexplicable decision has been made to withdraw all core funding from SMSA as of March next year. If you agree that this makes no sense, you might like to sign this petition.
Petition to support Scottish Men’s Sheds Association in their campaign to be funded
Please sign this very important petition – it takes less than a minute – to improve men’s health and wellbeing in Scotland.
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.”