Women work towards shared shed space

A WOMEN’S Shed is on the way for Ballarat following the recent founding of an organising committee.

The push got underway in November and is in part driven by Meredith Huggins after she experienced family violence, causing changes in her living situation.

“I had to move into a terrible rental and had a lot of friends with maintenance skills that came and helped,” she said.

“It was a really supportive village for me and so I wanted to create that for other women that might be going through a hard time.

“I’ve found a lot of women especially during COVID have been experiencing anxiety and finding it difficult to meet up.

“This is a good avenue for them to get together and just work on projects and not have that pressure of socialising.

Since starting in November, the group has more than 2500 followers on Facebook with a committee of about 20 members.

Phoenix P-12 College in Sebastopol will be used as a temporary host space and Ms Huggins said the group is putting the call out for donations to secure a permanent facility.

As part of the initiative the group is planning to run DIY events.

“We’ve got some skilled women onboard to host workshops,” Ms Huggins said.

“They’ll be driven by community interest. We’ve had people asking about things like welding, knife-sharpening, basic maintenance.”

Women’s Shed co-organiser Megan Holman said she’s looking forward to seeing how the group can benefit women in the region.

“We had our first informal meeting with about 16 or 18 women and I got excited by the idea because I used to be a painter and decorator and now, I’m a mindset coach,” she said.

“So, I loved the idea of women in trades and learning skills and empowering women in that respect.”

Ms Huggins said she and Ms Holman work especially well together.

“I’ve got a very big picture, creative ideas brain whereas she’s really good at organising and getting the ball rolling,” Ms Huggins said.

“So, we’ve become great friends and we’re collaborating really well to get things happening.”

The Women’s Shed’s first workshops are expected to begin no later than March.