Kevin Healey longed for a sense of belonging when he lived in the ‘burbs. He tells Sumeyya Ilanbey his love for feeling part of the Ballan community.
What’s your connection to Moorabool?
Firstly, we moved up to Ballan 36 years ago – end of 1979. We moved up from the western suburbs, which is pretty common. My motive was to feel like I belonged in a community, to have a sense of community, and I certainly achieved that.
Secondly, other than being involved with the [Ballan] men’s shed, I’m the secretary of the local community house, I am a [volunteer] firefighter with the CFA; I also have a role in the control centre if there’s a big enough local emergency; and I am a member of the local historical society.
What’s your favourite thing about living in Ballan?
Being able to walk down the street and know a number of people, encounter people and have a chat. That you’re recognised – you have an identity, you exist and people are happy to have a chat with you. There’s also a very big degree of collaboration between groups … and it often works well for everybody. And the wombats.
What would you change about the area if you could?
There’s room for improvement in involving teenagers. Locally, there are quite a limited number of activities and places that teenagers can socialise in and interact.
Yes, there are sport groups and they’re quite good … but there aren’t any theatres or good hang-out areas. Something else that beats the heck out of me – we have a vast amount of experience in our community … but we’re not very good at leveraging that depth of experience.
Where’s your favourite place to hang out in Ballan?
Oh, I guess my favourite place is with the men at the men’s shed. When I was young – a long, long time ago – the norm was for the blokes to go to the pub and that’s where they socialised. They had a whinge about their bosses … but as the drink-driving laws changed, there were fewer and fewer men going to the pub after work. But there weren’t enough social places for men to go.
Forty to 50 per cent of the men [who come to the Ballan men’s shed] live in the bush and they don’t get much social interaction … they say: “You guys have added years to my life”.
How did you get involved with the men’s shed?
I was astounded by the number of people who were concerned they had mental health problems and were prepared to admit it … the men were open and honest and non-judgmental. All of us fear [admitting we have issues] because we feel like we’ll be sidelined …
But there’s a group prepared to accept you for who you area. You can express your opinion without being held down or dismissed or ignored.
How important are programs and initiatives targeting men’s health?
I’m happily married … have four children, seven grandchildren and a fairly reasonable [sized] network. I’m quite happy, but I continually encounter elderly people living on their own who don’t get much social interaction. It seems to me that people who live longer, happier lives are those who have a large amount of social interaction … those who go out and visit others are the ones who seem to have the best golden years. And I see a number of people who don’t have that.
For more information about the Ballan Men’s Shed, call 5368 1934.
