finding purpose after retirement: how one organization is helping men across canada fight isolation and loneliness
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doug johnson and his shedders stand around a community library they've built, showing that men's sheds is good for the individuals involved as well as the community.
doug johnson
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after doug johnson retired in 2015, he and his wife relocated to the small town of carleton place, with a population of just over 12,000. his wife’s family lived in the area, but doug didn’t know anyone else outside of them.
when he said goodbye to his working years in occupational health and safety and found himself alone in a new town, he was at a loss. he had all this time and no idea how to fill it. and he, like many other canadians who find themselves in the same position, found the challenge almost more than they could handle.
“it’s a very interesting thing when you leave the work that you were doing and your people that you were dealing with and everything, and then all of a sudden, you’re kind of at loose ends,” he said. “that’s why i was looking at, ‘oh, should i get another job? should i do some part-time work? should i do this? and i almost had a nervous breakdown over the whole thing.”
doug spent roughly a year grappling with those questions while feeling more and more isolated, save for the family that he knew in town. at the time, his wife pat had created her own network of women to spend time with but saw that her husband was struggling to find his own place in their new town. she tried to push him towards getting back into curling and other activities, but nothing felt entirely on the money for doug—until someone came knocking at his door as part of a favour he was doing for his neighbours.
“one of my neighbours wanted to sell something on kijiji sort of thing, and they weren’t in town, so i said, ‘we’ll do it for you.’ and so, i advertised this coffee maker, and this guy came to the door to get it, and he started to talk about men’s sheds,” he said.
at first, doug took it with a grain of salt, joking that he considered it to be some sort of religion because of the way he came to know about it. but after the man left his home, doug found a newspaper article that shifted his perspective.
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“i turned around after he left, and i went back into the house, and i was talking to pat, and there was a local newspaper on the table, and i picked it up, and here’s an article about men’s sheds that was written by this guy that had been at the front door,” he said.
he talked it over with his wife, who encouraged him to check it out, and he did. today, doug is the president of his local men’s shed and secretary of men’s sheds ontario.
the impact of retiring on men
after retirement, people often lose a considerable network of connections they may have had for years—or even decades. for older men, this shift can be severely detrimental to their overall well-being. in some worst cases, it can lead to self-inflicted death.
men are at higher risk of suicide than other genders. after retirement, the suicide risk increases for many men because of the toll the transition takes on their mental, social, and emotional health.
robert goluch, the inaugural president of men’s sheds canada, has worked with the organization for over four years, starting in a local shed in squamish, and he sees the impact first-hand that retirement can have on men.
“you lose your social network because you usually hang around with people that you work with,” he said. “you become socially isolated, and it has all kinds of adverse effects. the cardiovascular system is affected, (you develop) anxiety, depression, suicide.”
according to the world health organization, social isolation is a massive issue globally, with the organization going so far as calling it a pandemic. it’s predicted that as many as 20 per cent of the population will experience the harmful effects of social isolation and loneliness, with half of those being men, by 2050.
robert believes that to address this, organizations need to act now—and men’s sheds is doing just that across the country.
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men’s sheds and its mission of helping men find their place in the world after retirement
first started in australia, men’s sheds was designed to bring men together in a way that fosters genuine connection while encouraging men to get involved in their communities, vent about the everyday issues they wouldn’t otherwise communicate about, or simply experience the camaraderie of belonging to a group of like-minded individuals.
doing so can elevate the men involved in a way that remedies the negative health effects of social isolation.
“it’s a comfortable, friendly, welcoming space, inviting men to come and learn new skills,” said robert. “but it also gives them the opportunity to practice health by stealth. when men work shoulder to shoulder, and because of that traditional masculine value of men not saying anything, they want to be macho, they don’t share their problems with their partners, and they don’t want to go to the doctors and so on. well, it’s surprising what happens when you get two men together working on a project. their hands are busy, and their mouths start to talk, and they talk about their illnesses, and they find out they have a lot in common.”
he continued, “they walk away at the end of the day not only working on a project but feeling mentally healthy or healthier.”
doug knows all of these benefits firsthand—especially since he lost his wife during the covid pandemic, a loss that he wouldn’t have been able to get through without the social network he created by getting involved with men’s sheds.
“i don’t know where i’d be without it (men’s sheds) right now,” he said, later continuing, “it is my life.”
the activities available in a men’s shed aren’t limited to woodworking or other shed-like building, and local men’s sheds have agency over what they want to do when they get together. according to robert, some might spend their time gardening, while others hike, and in some cases, they may just sit, chat, and have a coffee when there’s no specific project to be tackled.
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but it isn’t just hanging out and enjoying projects. it’s much more than that.
“we’re also involved in intergenerational projects. for example, in my shed in squamish, every summer and now for the fifth summer in a row, we have a summer program for children between the ages of five and 11, and we teach them basic carpentry skills, you know, how to use a hammer, how to nail a thing,” robert said. “at the end of the session, they walk away with a little project, with a little craft piece that they can bring home to their parents.”
robert notes that these relationships, which are great for the community, benefit the shedders, a name aptly given to those involved, just as much as they do the children.
“we’ve got pictures and pictures of the joy it brings to both, and so intergenerational activities are very important.”
in carleton place, giving back to the community is just a part of everyday life for doug and his group of shedders.
“i do a lot of work for community organizations like the curling club, the museum, the local museum, the local chamber of commerce, local business and improvement area. i have done work for thrift stores, stuff like that,” said doug. “but it’s all done gratis. we’re not asking for money. often, we get, ‘well, how much is it going to cost?’ it’s going to cost you the cost of the materials if we have to buy materials. if we don’t have to buy materials, it’s not. if you want to make a donation, you make a donation. but that’s how we operate.”
robert and the team at men’s sheds aim to grow the organization exponentially in the next decade, and he wants men to know that if they’re struggling with social isolation and loneliness and can’t find their place, the doors at men’s sheds are always open.
“go to your nearest shed and make it happen. and if it’s not there, contact us and we’ll start a shed (for you). that’s what we want. that’s what we’re here for. we want to start as many sheds as we possibly can,” he said.
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if you or someone you know is interested in donating or getting involved in men’s sheds, you can contact them on their website.
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