Make and Mend group tackles social isolation

A community group is using its artistic talents to help tackle loneliness and mental health difficulties.

Launched in 2024, the Men's Make and Mend sessions in Barrow, now see about 15 people attend weekly get-togethers creating everything from glassworks to jewellery and candlesticks.

The group was set up in response to requests for somewhere men could strike up friendships while putting their skills to use.

Sharon Tait, a volunteer with the ArtWorks Art4All community interest company organising the sessions, said the meet-ups "have had a real effect" on those attending - several of whom deal with anxiety, depression or other illnesses.

One participant, Dale, said he had found welcome support following the death of two people in his family.

"Coming to this group instead of sitting at home helps me get through that and gives me a routine," he explained.

Participants meet for two-and-a-half hours on Thursdays at a unit on Duke Street in the town centre.

"The group itself is only small and that's what they wanted because of their needs," Tait said.

"We've got someone with dementia, a couple of people with autism and most in the group have got mental health issues so it has to be safe for them.

"The great thing is they've now got their own Messenger group to keep in touch with each other, which I think is really lovely."

Key to the project's success, she said, had been the focus on listening to the needs of the men.

When £3,350 funding was secured from the Cumbria Community Foundation last year, group leaders were guided by the men on where that money should be spent.

"[As organisers] we might've thought we needed a drill, but actually they said they needed a ceramic artist to come in and teach them pottery," Tait said.

"It's their group so, quite rightly, they wanted ownership of decisions."

The funding also covered costs for trips to places including Muncaster Castle and the historic house and gardens at Holker Hall.

Those visits saw group members "clear big hurdles", Tait said, as many faced "debilitating anxiety" when dealing with situations other people may take for granted, such as travelling on buses.

With the funding from the foundation now having run out, though, a £3 charge has been introduced for all the sessions run by ArtWorks Art4All.

Tait is worried the future of the Make and Mend group could be at risk if grants are not secured in the months ahead and warned its closure would be a "huge loss to the people who come".

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