Second Cycle – https://www.2ndcycle.org/
- Kevin Ruby, Second Cycle - kevineruby@gmail.com - 253-381-6730
- Bike shop on 12th and MLK on the hilltop
- We are a nonprofit, but we are like a normal bike shop (are there actually normal bike shops out there? Just curious. I thought for sure Portlandia would have a bike shop sketch, but I couldn’t find one on youtube. -ed). We Also teach folks how to repair their own bikes.
- Lots of folks experiencing homeless come through our doors
- I’m new to working with some of the challenges that come with serving folks experiencing homelessness (you and me both. –ed).
- We’ve tried to do bike giveaway programs and skill building programs, but they’ve been a bit ad hoc. We want to streamline our bike giveaway – and have a formal program with a referral system
- To take us there, we have a few questions that you might be able to answer to help us develop that. We’d like to have a referral form asking for the following information: Height, name, age, employment status, referring agency, participants relationship to the agency, other bike needs – riding skills, lock, helmets,
- Patty – add some checkboxes, maybe not have the question so open ended
- Sherri – add Ethnicity or race demographics? –
- Gerrit – is literally homeless a requirement (what a great question, Gerrit. –ed)? Kevin – not a requirement, we can help anyone
- We’ve not had a lot of success giving the bikes away – they often come back to us, or we see them with a different owner, or with unsafe modifications (I totally wanted details on what “unsafe modifications” were, but no specifics were given. Like, https://recyclenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/cart-bike2.jpg , maybe? Or this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoqdqxSZ1TM –ed.)
- Theresa – it would be good for the client to write out why they would like the bike – have the form direct the client to write that out so they could articulate their own needs.
- Sherri – do you have a some giveaway targets? Kevin – maybe one a month. We are rebuilding bikes – usually at a ¼ or a 1/5 of the cost. We try to keep one bike on deck for giveaway purposes. We have been flooded at times with multiple people
- Gerrit – If you add the HMIS ID to the form, we can then see if a donated bike helps end someone’s homeless episode quicker. We can also map to the demographic data we collect in HMIS to provider more information when aggregating data for reporting.
- Patricia – Do you track serial numbers on bikes. Kevin – we occasionally check if serial numbers are in the system. We have several thousand bikes donated per year, and we are unable to track all those numbers. We don’t participate in the national serial number program. Patricia – there is a lot of bike theft here.
- Kevin – If we require a referral form from a provider, is this referral form an undue burden for providers? Group – No (unanimous –ed).
- Al – do you have a sense of who all is referring people to you? Do some agencies refer more actively? Would it make sense to make a better connection with the agencies? Kevin – past referrals have all been folks experiencing homelessness referring other folks experiencing homelessness. Sometimes it is an informal referral from a homeless service provider.
- Sherri – is this referral form meant to eliminate the folks walking in? Kevin – yes, we’ll request they connect in with a service provider to get the referral filled out.
- Question - How do you prevent folks from being unsafe or selling the bike? Kevin – we can’t. The better the bike meets the needs, the better the chance they’ll retain the bike and use it. (I think this was the conversation – I missed a few key words, and this is my best guess –ed.)
- Patty – do you have children’s bikes? Kevin – yes. Also, kids under 18 use the tools for free. (adults rent tools by the hour).
- Greg – thank you guys – I live down the street, and you guys are awesome. They take donations – drop stuff off. Also, a lot of our agencies may have funds that may be able to purchase the bikes. Kevin - Adult bikes are from $100-$300, when we sell them. Most of the time you can get a solid, dependable bike for $150.
- Sherri – would be we able to set a single rate for bikes? Could we have one set number – if we spend $100 for a bike. Kevin – yes, we could do a homeless service discount bike – I’ll look into that.
- (My take on that exchange…
Kevin: I’d like to give bikes away for free to folks experiencing homelessness.
Homeless Providers: How about if we pay you for them.
Kevin: um, OK. *these people don’t seem so smart…*
-ed.)
- Question – Do you reach out to downtown on the go? Kevin – not formally, but we are friends with them.
- Question - Are you on social media so we can share the donation option. – Kevin – yes, we have Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/2ndCycle/ ), twitter (https://twitter.com/2ndcycletacoma )and Instagram (http://instidy.com/2ndcycle )
- Al – any support from the City [of Tacoma]? Kevin – our classes for youth aren’t self-sustaining, so we get some support from them.
- Dru- would you hold a class for youth in shelters, could we have a specific class for our clients? Kevin – yes, we can do that. We could model it a bit on the lady’s night we have with free tool usage (somehow just hearing Lady’s Night makes me think of that Kool and the Gang classic… - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLnUJQut-kc -ed).
- Martha – do you work with the Trinity Presbyterian Church bike giveaway? Kevin – I’m unaware of that giveaway. Martha – you could do a safety class for them... Kevin – we could support that.
- James – Is there anything we can do for you? We appreciate the discounts. Kevin – shop with us, donate to us, send us referrals.
- Questions - how about if I can’t ride a bike? Kevin – we’ll teach you.
- If you need a bike, come on by – it is a bit like a thrift store. Come by, and we’ll take any donations.
- Carrie – a shout out - Molina Health Care has a bike – and 2nd Cycle serviced the bike – much appreciated. Also have bought bikes from them for raffle prizes.
- Theresa – another shout out – 2nd cycle provided a chance for a client to volunteer in their shop when no one else wood – and it led to a job at a bike shop for her.
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