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Life Cycle: The Bike Shop Behind Bars
Bristol, England, United Kingdom
Aim: Help us train more prisoners as Bike Mechanics - to build a brighter future after release. #BikesBehindBars
We're Crowdfunding to scale-up our "Bikes Behind Bars" project - so we can train more prisoners as Bike Mechanics.
We’re moving to a bigger workshop inside Bristol Prison and need to buy more tools, equipment and bike parts – to help more prisoners gain a qualification.
You can help these men turn their lives around by making a donation today!
Why is it important to train prisoners?
97% of prisoners say they want to stop offending* but the situation in most prisons sets them up to fail:
Levels of “purposeful activity” are at an all-time low. Sometimes prisoners will be locked up for 23 hours a day. Self-harm and suicides continue to rise.
Prisoners who get a job on release are much more likely to turn their lives around - but fully 63% re-offend within 12-months of release - often due to a lack of employable skills.
Inmates must work as part of the prison day – but tasks are often boring, repetitive and don’t require any skill.
Our workshop is different. We give prisoners the skills and self-belief to turn their lives around…
How "Bikes Behind Bars" works
We take donations of broken and unwanted bikes to a secure workshop inside Bristol Prison, where we teach prisoners the skills to completely refurbish them.
The men earn a City & Guilds qualification in cycle mechanics. For many, this will be their first qualification. With our support, the men gain employable skills, self-belief and a sense of hope – the keys to a crime-free future.
Learning Skills for Life
Our tuition is first-class: Our experienced tutors teach textbook techniques in a practical way, to accommodate different learning styles.
Many of the men have complex needs: Our tutors and volunteers create a safe, supportive environment where mutual respect and inquisitiveness can flourish.
With us, men can realise their full potential.
"John's a great teacher and has really helped with my understanding and self-belief. I can and will complete any task I put my mind on! When I get out I want to continue with vocational training” – Nathaniel
Giving Back to the Community
Our workshop produces high quality refurbished bikes that prisoners take pride in: They can really give something back to the community, knowing that whoever rides their bikes away will have the best cycling experience.
"I feel like I’m doing something positive for people out there. Two nice bikes have come in that I've stripped and put back together. I like to think that someone might get them for Christmas, it makes me smile" - Raz
Help us take the next step!
We're about to move into Bristol Prison’s shiny new Education Block.
Having a bigger, lighter, more modern space means we can teach more men. That means more prisoners will learn valuable skills and more bikes will be returned to the community.
We need your help to buy more mechanics tools, more equipment and more bike parts – so we can scale-up our operation and help even more men to make a new start.
How you can help
Help us transform lives by:
1. Making a donation
2. Purchasing a reward
3. Getting your workplace involved by becoming a Corporate Donor
… Or all of the above!
Only with your support can prisoners at HMP Bristol make a new start in life.
How will the money be spent?
Our rewards
If you’d like to pledge without claiming a reward, click the blue 'pledge' button at the top of the column on the right.After making your pledge, please spread the word! Thank you.
About Life Cycle
We're an innovative, Bristol-based charity that transforms lives through cycling.
Our ‘Inclusive Cycling’ projects help people with disabilities, mental illness, offenders, disadvantaged children and isolated older people to feel happier, healthier, and more connected to their local community.
We're proud to have won the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service and the Robin Corbett Award for Prisoner Reintegration.
Last year, we helped 6,748 people to unlock the benefits of cycling.
This year we need your help to reach even more people – through our work with prisoners at HMP Bristol…
Our achievements
Since we started the project in 2010 we've helped more prisoners every year: Last year a record 78 prisoners refurbished 492 bikes for the local community.
- We were shortlisted for the National Lottery Awards
- We bagged the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service
- We won the Prison Reform Trust’s Robin Corbett Award for Prisoner Reintegration.
Media – links to press/videos about our project
Video: Bike Back on BBC Points West
*All statistics are taken from research by the Prison Reform Trust.
Please donate to our campaign today. Thank you so much!
The "Bikes Behind Bars" team.
Forward Enterprise Fund has provided £3,000 of match funding
This project successfully funded on 16th December 2019