Step by Step Project

‘Step By Step’ (SBS), a cross-border project co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund’s (ERDF) Interreg 2Seas programme, includes partners from France, Belgium and the Netherlands alongside those in Kent, Hampshire and West Sussex, and is currently testing an innovative model to support men and improve their social inclusion and wellbeing. SBS’s is primarily working with men at risk of social isolation and poor mental health or wellbeing.

SBS builds on the concept of “men’s sheds”, which gives men the opportunity to share knowledge, skills, advice and their personal story through activities they choose to do together. In this “safe space” men gain self confidence and are supported to become more engaged with others, with some of them developing new personal and professional life projects.

Inside SBS Sheds, men have access to peer-to-peer support to facilitate discussion, including on themes of health and wellbeing, which they may find harder to discuss with a doctor. This is supported by a network of local organisers and ‘Health Champions’ – men who can offer their peers advice on health and employment services, and where desired, direct them to the right service providers.

Find more information here.