A Sunderland business has donated two bikes to local homelessness charity Oasis Community Housing to help the people the charity work with gain more independence.
The bikes were donated from St Peters Cycles as part of Sunderland Community Action Group, for two men living in the charity’s supported accommodation project.
Journeying out of homelessness
Stewart, struggling with the trauma he experienced as a child, mental health issues and addiction, found himself homeless and sleeping on the streets.
Almost 45% of people experiencing homelessness reported suffering trauma as a child, with 90% of people impacted by trauma going on to experience mental health or emotional difficulties.
After months of rough sleeping, he found our Basis Sunderland homeless drop-in centre where he received support thanks to your donations. Now in a much better place, and at an advanced stage on his journey out of homelessness, Stuart is now the proud owner of one of the bikes donated.
Over the moon with excitement about his new bike, Stuart explained, ‘It’s going to give me a bit of independence, get me out and about. It’s good for my mental health too.’
Richy Duggan, Project Manager at St Peters Cycles, delivered the bikes to Basis Sunderland explaining, ‘Through our partnership with Sunderland City Council, St Peters Cycle Hub is flourishing. We offer a range of specialist bike services to the city.
‘One of the services we offer is the recycled bike community scheme. Our dedicated team of trained cycle maintenance staff fix the bikes up which are donated to offer them back into the community for families and people in need of a bike for free.
‘When Oasis Community Housing approached us, and when we heard about what they are about, we were more than happy to help donate some bikes. We are just doing our bit to help out as it is a fantastic charity helping lots of people across our region.’
If you know of someone in need, our Basis Sunderland drop-in runs Monday to Friday and is held at Park Road Church, SR2 8HR.
Find out more about our work with local businesses and other corporate partners on our Workplace page.