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'COME AND SEE US, COME AND HAVE A CUP OF TEA WITH US AND GET INVOLVED' 07:45, 05 Jun 2025 Loneliness can happen to any of us. We could have a job one day and none the next; or

maybe a long-term relationship has ended; in fact, there are countless circumstances that can leave someone socially isolated. Humans need to be around other humans, and not seeing anyone

can easily spiral into anxiety and depression. However, there are solutions. Eight years ago, Eddy Flynn founded Bootle Tool Shed, a workshop which specialises in woodwork and serves as

somewhere for men who may be lonely, have mental health issues, or who might just be bored, to socialise while developing skills. The Shed, Eddy says, has taken in men who've been

"written off" by society while members have even said they "wouldn't be alive" if not for the work they do. The 58-year-old from Netherton had been struggling with

his own loneliness and mental health problems back in 2015 when he came up with the idea for the Tool Shed. He told the ECHO: "I was looking for a woodworking group. I wasn’t working

and I just needed something for me. "My mental health wasn’t great and I used woodwork as a way of dealing with that. But I became a bit isolated doing it on my own, in my shed. "I

couldn’t find a group so I asked a guy from Wigan, Dave, who was on a forum with me, and he asked me if I’d ever heard of Men in Sheds. I said: ‘No, I am one but I’ve never heard of

it’." Article continues below Men in Sheds is a service run to support older men who want to get together, share and learn new skills - all in the welcoming space of a ‘Shed'.

After hearing about the initiative, Eddy began researching and visiting Sheds which he could get to and from within an hour or two. He added: "There was nothing close to me so I had a

meeting with a guy who ran a Shed in another part of the north west, and ended up starting one myself. "The Shed network, nationally, is for men over 55, but at Bootle Tool Shed we’re a

little different. We’re open to men over the age of 18. "We have a mixed day on a Tuesday where we have men and women but it’s predominantly a project for men. Men keep themselves to

themselves and if men become isolated, whether that’s through illness or retirement or anything, they tend to spiral into depression and anxiety. "Men used to just gather in the pub but

the pub isn’t the answer for someone suffering from mental health issues or loneliness." Bootle Tool Shed has over 200 members. Speaking about how the workshop has helped many of them

to tackle loneliness and mental health issues, Eddy said: "Our way of supporting men is to get them in the Shed, get them involved and, quickly, the social isolation goes out the

window. "If you put four men in a room, they’ll each find a corner and they won’t speak to one another, but if you put them round a bench with an item that needs fixing, by the end of

it you will have that item fixed and those guys will know each other’s children’s names. "We’ve had guys in the past who’ve almost been written off, some who could be at work if they

had the confidence to. We’ve had some really great successes. I’m not saying that’s just because of the Shed but, before they got involved with the Shed, they’d be at home on medication, and

now we know they’re back in full-time employment. "We have had comments from our members who’ve said they would not be alive if it wasn’t for the Shed. That’s a massive statement for

someone to make but it’s not an isolated one - we’ve heard it time and time again. "We’ve got guys who, once they’ve built up their confidence here, go and get involved in other

projects or volunteer with other community groups - and they get involved more with their wider families. "There's men who had almost stopped going to family events and now,

because they’ve got that other outlet, they’re happy to go to them and other community activities." What does a typical day at Bootle Tool Shed look like? Eddy chuckles, saying: “It’s

usually quite manic. There’s always lots of projects going on. We usually have between 10 and 15 members there on any one day. "We do woodwork, metal work, bicycle repairs, and a little

bit of upholstery. If we’ve got a big project, it can cause a little bit of drama and panic - these guys are not at work but they put their all into it as if they were. "Some guys will

come in every day and some will come in once or twice a week. We’ve got a membership of around 200 but we don’t see 200 at any one time - our average is about 10 in a day." Eddy adds:

"Complete beginners are always welcome. If you’ve got skills to share, that’s fantastic and that’s a bonus, but most of our guys haven’t done woodwork since they were in school.

"The first project we ever ask anyone to make is a simple bird box - it’s something they can take home and put up on the fence, and it’s an achievement. It also gets them involved in

finding what’s on the shelf, where the tools are and things like that." Bootle Tool Shed, which is based on Derby Road, is "always growing," Eddy says, but "as with

everything - especially charitable organisations - it's all down to funding." He continued: "We’ve been asked regularly if we can replicate this in other areas, and we are

actively trying to do that. If we had the correct pot of funding, we could be in half a dozen other places by the end of the year. "People can help the sheds out by spreading the word.

They don’t even have to volunteer time or give us money. Just support us by asking us to make a garden bench for you; we’re not looking for handouts and we know people need things in return.

Article continues below "We get a lot of support where people come in and say they want to help, but we could always use more." If you're a man who's feeling isolated or

bored, Eddy says: “Come and see us, come and have a cup of tea with us and get involved. The hardest thing for 90% of our members to do is get across the door." For more information on

Bootle Tool Shed, click here.