Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Darwin Men's Shed President Brian Harvey says the group has secured funds to find a new home, with the current site earmarked for a youth hub

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Darwin Men's Shed President Brian Harvey says the group has secured funds to find a new home, with the current site earmarked for a youth hub · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: And joining me on the line right now is Brian Harvey,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: the president of the men Shed. Good morning to you.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: Brian, Good morning Katie.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah, good to have you on.
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: The show now.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: I know that there's well, there's a bit of positive
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: news to kick things off. Back in twenty nineteen, of course,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics did advise that
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: you'd have to vacate the premises that you're currently in
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: and operating out of at the Casuarina fire Station. But
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: I do understand that you've now secured some federal funding
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: based on what Luke Gosling had told us on the
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: show a bit earlier this morning.
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: Yes, you have. Actually, Lea's been working with it, or
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: we've been working with Leake since probably two thy nineteen
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: when we foundly had to move. And I'm very pleased
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: at Leaks managed to secure some funding for us to
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: help us build our you shed.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: So that's obviously the good news part of it, Brian.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: But the hard part is you've got to find a
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: new location.
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: Yes, that's quite a difficult one. Actually, we've been looking
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: since twenty nineteen, and I'm going to assure you I
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: know ten places that we can't go. So there's been
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: a lot of work in the background. But at the
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: moment we're looking at two locations possible locations, and that's
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: the old RSL side at Mara, but that's a link
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: up with hopefully some veteran groups and other stakeholders who
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: fast if we would link up with them to go there.
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: But there's a lot of work to happen with DIPPLE
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: to allow that to move forward, and I can see
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: that being a bit of a stumbling block at the moment.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: Is the old council defot on the corner of Leanna
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: and Battle and Drive. We're not sure if the councilors
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: actually have an appetite for us to go to that site.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: So we're in a bit of limbo in both areas.
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: But we'll move forward and approach both places and see
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: how we go.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: And so you've got a couple of places sort of
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: the possibilities. I mean, do you like, do you need
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: to do a bit of a shout out to the
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: community if anybody knows of another location or is it
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: not that simple?
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: Oh, I know we can do a shout out that
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: we'd certainly like to link up and work with the
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: veterans insl side. Yes, we have the trans and emergency
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: service personnel that attend our shed and they're keen, as
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: are a lot of the men. Yeah, at the end
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: of the day, we just need a place to support
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: men's mental health and isolation, which is a big thing
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: for men and it's.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: A great thing that you guys do with the Men's sheared.
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: How like, is it going to be a difficult process
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: for you guys moving out of your current location and
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: that type of thing, or are you hoping it's going
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: to be pretty seamless.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: Be seamless. I can assure you we did get a
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: grant from the Community Benefit Fund to help us relay
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: Kate back in I think it's late to nineteen or
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: early twenty twenty. We still had those funds sitting there
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: until we're able to move. But that's just help us
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: relate k But we'll have to get you down to
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: the shed so you can actually see our setup and
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: you'll understand what I mean. It's not going to be seamless.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: Plenty to move and you got like you're doing credible
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: stuff down there.
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: Well, it's just having a look at some of the
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: stats and since twenty seventeen. We're see fifty six thousand
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: man hours in volunteer work at the shed, which basically equates,
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: if you take the volunteer right, we generate about half
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: a million dollars a year in supporting men's mental health
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: and men's isolation and services to man.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that is amazing. And it was International Men's Day
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: on the weekend as well. Did you do anything to
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: celebrate or do you always sort of just celebrate and
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: look after each other.
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: Oh, look, we still opened up down the shed and
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: we've got a lot of projects for the community and
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: everything that we're trying to get out, and so we
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: were just working down the shed with all the guys
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: that were down there. And look, it's one of those
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: things down there. If you come down you don't have
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: to engage in woodwork or metal work. A lot some
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: of them just come down. They just want to chat, Yeah,
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: and they just want to talk basically. No, it's quite good.
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: We got a lot of things we do down there,
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: is woodwork, metal work, scroll for work, wood turning, three
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: D printing, laboratory, pushboke, reservice, gardening, cooking. Yeah, you do
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: it all, well, you do it all. Everything is there
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: everybody's got to different skills, so whatever they would like
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: to do, we try and accommodate and move forward with it.
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: And Brian, how important is it do you reckon that
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: our blokes do have? You know, that kind of space
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: that the Men's Shed is to be able to do
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: that volunteer work you're contributing to the community, but to
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: also be able to have those conversations and purpose.
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: Oh, it's extremely important. Some of the I suppose feedback
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: we get from some of the men that do turn
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: up there is there's very little in Darwin where men
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: can actually go and actively engage and talk with other men.
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: I'm not saying there's not any other places, but they
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: like the Men's Shed. They come down, they can just talk, relax,
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: and they can talk about any of the issues they
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: may have if they chease, but it's just a friendly place.
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: If they want to tinkle with some of the tools
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: and make things down there, as they do quite good.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: I reckon it's fantastic. So what's next, Brian, in terms
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: of this new location and in terms of what needs
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: to happen to get you there, what are the next
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: steps and is there any way that the community can
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: sort of help.
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: Well, the next steps is we're going to have a
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: meeting with all the stakeholders that are possibly heading to
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: were thinking of going to the Marara site, and put
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: a proposal forward to DIPPLE and try and get something
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: happening there is as quick as possible. Now I've been
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: told that's going to take several months for that, which
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: I think is quite a long time. Wanting to get
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: a kick along with the youth hub, so I find
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: that's going to be a bit of a stumbling.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: Block, it sounds like it.
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, and I'm not sure what's happening with the council.
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: They were doing an audit with all their property and infrastructure,
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: which is fine, but I don't know what they're doing
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: with the site down there. Nothing seems to come forward
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: with that one at the moment. Yeah, sure they will
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: say something soon, but yeah, they look they know of
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: any other places that would be good. Always listening, We
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: certainly don't chut anything out.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: No, Well, Brian, I really appreciate you having a chat
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: with us this morning. Also, while I've got you, if
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: there are any blokes out there listening this morning and
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: they're thinking, you know, i'd like to get along to
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: the men shed is there, you know, like, is there
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: a way that they can find out a bit more?
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: Yes, they can. They can give me a call my numbers.
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we can pass it on to people if required.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: But you've got a Facebook page too, don't you.
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: Yes, we have Facebook page. Or they can just drop
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: into the old Casarina fire station and on Tuesdays and
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: Thursdays between ten and four or Sunday afternoon between one
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: and four when we'll be there. So yeah, no, it's good.
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: We've got a good people come down there. On a
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: another note, we had twelve members from remote communities coming
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: the other day. They're looking at starting men sheds out
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: in the community, so they came into us to see
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: how we're set up and they would like to duplicate
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: what we have out in the communities.
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: Oh that's awesome, Yeah, I reckon, that's fantastic. Well, Brian,
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: it is lovely to talk to you this morning. Thank
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: you very much for coming on and telling us more
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: about what the Men's shed's doing, but also talking us
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: through you know, the changes to location. Please keep us
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: up to date, you know, as things do progress or
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: if you need.
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: A hand at all, not a problem.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: Thank you, thanks so much,