DRINKiQ x UK Men’s Shed Association

DRINKiQ and the UK Men’s Sheds Association are working in partnership to help foster connection, improve wellbeing and promote alcohol moderation among older men.

In the UK, public health data shows that older men are more likely to drink to levels considered harmful than other cohorts. This trend aligns with the onset of life-stage and age-related factors from retirement to empty-nesting to bereavement, which can create conditions in which absence of meaning or mission can lead to higher likelihood of harmful alcohol consumption, and more frequent alcohol consumption.

So, for many older men, alcohol consumption doesn’t increase in later life in a vacuum. It often increases because of a vacuum.

But the power of alternative social outlets to support healthier drinking habits is real. A sense of mission really matters. That’s why we are highlighting Men’s Sheds – to bring people to those outlets and show another way.

The UK Men’s Sheds Association (UKMSA) supports a growing network of over 1,000 Men’s Sheds. Sheds are social and creative community spaces where Shed members (Shedders) come together to make, repair, repurpose, and connect.

Men’s Sheds across the UK show how positive social outlets can change lives for the better. They improve physical and mental wellbeing and are linked with increased moderation of alcohol consumption among older men as they navigate life changes including retirement and changing social and family relationships. And some Shedders have reported how involvement has helped moderate their alcohol consumption ¹.

Find your local Men’s Shed here.

Through DRINKiQ’s partnership with the UKMSA, we are raising awareness of responsible drinking and wellbeing among older men through campaigns and an alcohol moderation programme that is being run across the Shed network.

Last year, we launched the DRINKiQ x UKMSA campaign Men on A Mission, championing a positive approach to physical and mental wellbeing among men. It highlighted how active, social outlets can change lives – while addressing patterns of unhealthy alcohol consumption in men from their fifties onwards.

This year, we’re taking the magic of Sheds outside through Mission: Shoulder to Shoulder. Shedders across the UK are on a mission to create and install unique buddy benches in their communities, to help facilitate the chance conversations that can brighten a day – or even change a life. Just as happens every day at Shed workbenches, across the UK.

The partnership has also seen DRINKiQ and the UKMSA co-develop a programme of workshops to encourage alcohol moderation; specially designed to equip Shed Leaders – the good folks who facilitate the operation of Sheds – with the resources to lead informed conversations about the causes and consequences of harmful drinking. Piloted this summer, Shed Leaders were equipped with simple tools and tips for understanding drinking habits, looking after your wellbeing, and supporting ‘Shedders’ who might be struggling with their relationship with alcohol. The resources are available to all Shedders through Men’s Sheds members’ resources platform.

Together, DRINKiQ and the UK Men’s Sheds Association are proving that increased social connection can lead to better and healthier relationships with alcohol.