Early years
Julian House Bike Workshop started life over 10 years ago as a regular series of bicycle-related activities to improve the wellbeing and independence of service users at Julian House. Bike maintenance workshops appeared alongside sports, cookery and other classes as part of the Meaningful Occupation programme. Through this programme, people who had been homeless were able to improve their skills and build their confidence. Service users worked on abandoned bikes that had been donated to Julian House; restoring them week-by-week into fully functioning machines. The added bonus of the bicycle maintenance class was that at the end, you could keep the bike that you’d built! This access to free transport proved to be a significant incentive, making the workshops reliably popular amongst service users.
Social enterprise
Meaningful Occupation continues to be an important part of life for Julian House service users and the bicycle repair classes have taken on a life of their own. In 2010, the workshops moved from the variable weather of the Julian House courtyard to a warehouse space on Corn Street, Bath. The new location brought a new burst of enthusiasm from service users and from staff and it was decided to expand the operation and make the classes into a competitive social enterprise business. The new workshop continued to collect second hand tools and donated bikes, but now actively looked to sell second-hand bikes and servicing to local cyclists. This in turn meant that service users could put their skills into practice in a real business setting, making the workshop excellent preparation for a move-on into employment.
Purpose and opportunity
The Julian House Bike Workshops provide opportunities for people dealing with addiction, homelessness, domestic violence, criminal convictions and mental health issues to get a positive lift into independence, learning and employment.
Mission
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.
The Julian House Bike Workshop exists to:
• Give customers reliable and excellent value bicycles and maintenance
• Create opportunities for vulnerable people to train, gain confidence and get a positive lift back into independence and employment.
Being part of a charity means that having a positive impact on people and communities is a top priority for workshop staff, right alongside making customers happy.
Julian House Bike Workshop use bikes to tackle:
• Homelessness
• Addiction
• Criminal rehabilitation
• Long-term unemployment
Building, repairing, servicing and selling bikes provides a huge range of opportunities for vulnerable people to get involved. By taking part in training and work placements appropriate to their current situation, people can build confidence, learn practical and people skills, and ultimately become ready for employment.
The humble bicycle can take people on this journey; giving them the forward momentum they need to keep their lives upright.