After seeing the amazing work that a local North East
charity does to support local disadvantaged people to get active through
cycling, I realised this was a great opportunity for the Northern Care
Coordination Partnership (‘NCCP’) veterans and some of their family members.
Recyke Y Bike refurbish and sell bikes and
essential accessories too. The proceeds help to provide employment, volunteering opportunities, and training. They provide pop up bike repair stations
and free bikes for refugees and other people on low incomes who are referred to
us. They are a North East charity that takes in used bikes from members
of the public and other donated sources with over 2000 bikes donated each year.
Recyke Y Bike have workshops in Byker (Newcastle upon Tyne) and
Durham. Each of these workshops have a sales outlet attached where they offer
affordable bikes as well as servicing & repairs.
Recyke Y Bike has recently joined the NCCP
and will offer a quick and simple referral pathway for our veterans and
families being support by our Support Care Coordinators. Once the referral is
made, WWTW support the clients to attend a tailored, veteran only
induction. During the induction, the clients will learn the basic
maintenance skills to service a bicycle, taught by a qualified
specialist. After the induction, the veterans and family member that
enjoy this type of activity will return weekly as a volunteer and build on
their knowledge and skills with a vision that they will soon be dismantling,
building and servicing bikes unsupervised.
The veterans and some of the family members
who are being supported by the NCCP have low social confidence and may struggle
to communicate with new groups of people. The partnership between the
NCCP and Recyke Y Bike has been formed to specifically tackle social isolation
and is hoped that once the group have built their confidence a little they will
soon volunteer here individually and will then self-refer to other
organisations without support from the Support Care Coordinators.
Early signs are that this type of group
activity has really helped this cohort of veterans and some are showing massive
improvements with their mental health and confidence. The impact this
change has on their wider family and community networks cannot be
underestimated. As service personnel, we all speak a common language and
are supportive of each other, but the over-arching aim must be that we can feel
just as relaxed within our local community and no longer require/want support
from veteran specific organisations.
WWTW are very keen to see how this
partnership, along with other social prescription/confidence building
partnerships we have such as Angling Trust and Calvert Kielder, develops over
the coming months.
For more information about our NCCP Programme, visit: www. walkingwiththewounded.org.uk/Home/Programmes/135