A HOMELESS hostel in Boscombe which helps its residents gain more independence as well as helping people in the local community through its bike repair scheme is looking to expand after a donation of £20,000.

For the last eight months, residents of Michael House have been busy reconditioning unwanted bikes for rough sleepers and people within our local community for a nominal donation to cover the cost of parts.

After a sizeable donation from retired businessman Duncan Pitt, Michael House are looking to turn their in-house bike repairs into a community project.

Chief Executive of Michaels Limited, Mark Horsford said: “We are so grateful to Duncan for creating this opportunity for our residents to connect and support positive changes within our local community.

“The first stage of the project will be to create a fully operational Bicycle Workshop at Michael House to ensure the residents and volunteers have a suitable base to repair and restore donated bicycles.

“After that, the plan is to take ‘On The Move' to the road and extend our skills to benefit local services, youth groups and community events, whilst encouraging people to become more active.”

Mark has successfully completed a two-week intensive technical maintenance course accredited by Cytech, the internationally recognised training and accreditation scheme for bicycle technicians.

This means that anyone connected to this project can achieve a certification through the Unit Award Scheme, helping them to gain qualifications to support their future employment opportunities.

To date, the project has helped a number of residents become more mobile and less reliant on public transport

The in-house volunteers have supported two rough sleepers with bikes, one of whom had their back wheel stolen whilst bedding down for much needed shelter.

Their most powerful intervention occurred when the group supported a single mum who was struggling to afford to repair her daughter's bike, whilst still covering the cost of the daily bus fare to get to school.

Michael House residents were moved by this story and offered to supply a newly reconditioned loan bike and serviced the young person’s bicycle for free.

It has also been confirmed by the Dorset Police Crime Commissioner that this Community Bike Project will also be supported by Dorset Police and have agreed to pass on unclaimed bikes for the volunteers to repair and sell for a nominal donation to ensure the project can become sustainable.

Mark added: “If you or someone you know has an old bike gathering dust in the shed or is destined for landfill, why not consider donating it to this project so that it can be reconditioned into a true lifeline that supports vulnerable people to become mobile, less isolated and have greater independence.”

For more information about Michael House ‘On The Move’ please email info@michaelhouse.co.uk or call 01202 393178.