By CASEY NEILL
A TYPICALLY Aussie event will officially open Springvale’s Multicultural Men’s Shed next week.
The welcome barbecue for the Australian-first facility will run from noon to 2pm on Saturday 14 February at the Balmoral Avenue venue.
“We’re a group of people, we’ve got together, we hardly know each other, and here we are,” councillor and committee member Roz Blades said.
“Great things are going to be happening.”
She said the shed would tackle depression and isolation by uniting men who were “in the same boat”, providing them with vocational training and connecting them with other cultures.
“You put two women at a bus stop and you’ve got their whole life stories,” she said.
“Men don’t do that. We’ve got to adapt to what their needs are.”
The idea came from Springvale Uniting Church Reverend Paul Creasey almost four years ago, after he found little cultural-specific help for a Chinese man who lost his daughter to a brain aneurism.
He and a community steering committee have since secured land at the church, received a donation of a former school portable and raised funds to fit it out.
“It’s a long time to sustain the enthusiasm, and it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster,” he said.
Rev Creasey said the Springvale concept was in line with other Australian Men’s Shed Association groups, which give men a place to chat while working shoulder-to-shoulder.
“People who use the shed will be the people that will determine what actually goes on,” he said.
But there’ll be a focus on skills, parenting and health.
“I think that men in our community are really struggling to understand their role,” he said.
“Some people find themselves out of work prematurely, or when they do retire that they’ve lived for work and their social connections are not built up.
“It’s about inclusion, it’s about creating a more cohesive community.”
The committee will hold a five-course banquet at Maxim’s Restaurant, level one, 17 Balmoral Road, Springvale, from 7pm on Friday 20 February.
It will cost $50 per head including meal, soft drinks and entertainment.
Book with Roz Blades on 0417 053 612, Youhorn Chea on 0412 338 180 or springvalemms@gmail.com.
RSVP for the opening to springvalemms@gmail.com or 0423 697 187.
