Exeter Bike Workshop

Please support our project and help us get 200+ homeless and excluded people into work this year...

Our track record

We’re a team of bike mechanics and employment specialists from two established charities who are on a mission to tackle social exclusion.

Since 2010, we’ve successfully set up 4 social enterprise bike workshops. These have served 1,000’s of happy customers and are helping around 140 people each year to overcome social exclusion, gain skills and confidence and get into work.

Now we're crowd funding to bring this proven business model to Exeter!

Project outline

The plans are all in place and we've already started designing the workshop (for a sneak peek, see the picture at the bottom of this page!).

With your support, we’re ready to make this happen.

For the community

We will also be a hub of social activity, with practical accredited courses, IT facilities and additional support to help homeless and socially excluded people build confidence, independence and motivation for employment.

Dan is one of the trainees at our exisiting Trowbridge workshop;

To support our trainees, and the wider community, we'll make available;

• Meeting space
• WiFi & IT facilities
• Accreditied maths, literacy & IT courses
• 6-week Build-a-Bike course
• Volunteering
• Supported work placements
• Job coaching
  
  

For customers

By giving customers excellent service, we’ll build a sustainable business that reinvests its profits in supporting socially excluded people in the community.

Our skilled and experienced mechanics will offer customers quality new and refurbished bikes, expert maintenance services and a complete range of affordable parts and cycling accessories.

• Servicing & repairs
• New & refurbished bikes
• Parts, accessories & customisations
• Maintenance courses
• Volunteering
• Donate-a-bike
  
  

This model has already been successfully tested – In the first half of this year, we generated £186,105 in trading income, turned a profit and created £209,100 in social value (We calculate social value using a well-respected tool – If you’re interested, you can read all about it here http://www.hact.org.uk/social-value-bank).

All that’s needed to bring this success to Exeter is your support. The need has never been greater…

The need

Access to employment is the most sustainable route out of homelessness, yet this can be one of the hardest things to accomplish.

We've been working with the homeless in Exeter for over 18 months. Here's some of what we've learned;

Public spending cuts over the last 5 years have reduced the services available, leaving gaps that we, as a community, need to fill.

Exeter’s homeless outreach team investigated this issue in March this year, interviewing 49 local rough sleepers. They identified a distinct lack of meaningful opportunities to improve life chances and do something structured with their days, i.e. actively learning news skills in preparation for future work.

“I’m looking for more, but volunteering opportunities are limited for people like me [client was referring to their prison record]. When I go to the job centre, they don’t have anything I’m allowed to do.”
- Rough Sleeper

"I need more activities and routine every day"
- Rough Sleeper

Brett, the homeless outreach manager, said;

“In our experience, homeless and socially excluded people can face a range of issues that block access to opportunities that could improve their health, social life and employment prospects.

These can include poor physical and mental health, low confidence and self-esteem, lack of skills and work experience, limited employment references and also a lack of knowledge of how to overcome these barriers.”

The solution

Exeter Bike Workshop will address these issues by creating a professional, supportive working environment that encourages;

• Motivation and responsibility, through purpose and routine
• Confidence and aspiration, through practical achievement
• Physical and mental activity, with practical courses and safe cycling
• Reductions in begging, offending and substance misuse, with structured activities alongside positive role models
• Removing employment barriers, through training, work experience and qualifications
• Positive contributions to society, through volunteering and work.

We'll be doing all thiss a partnership between Julian House and Exeter Community Initiatives. Together, we make up a team that has all the skills to make this project a success;

How you can help

Your support is a huge part of making this project a success! You can;

• Make a kind donation
• Treat yourself, your co-workers or a cyclist that you know
• Sponsor our cycling team on their 1-day challenge to ride 125 miles from Wiltshire to Exeter
• Take advantage of one of our business sponsorship offers

We can't wait to get started!