A nonprofit social bicycle club launched its mobile bike shop unit over the weekend to focus on youth development and community engagement.
Remember Us Urban Scouts, which partnered with Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, is an organization known for serving as a hub of resources and services for youth and their families.
The mobile bike shop unit will go into low-income communities once a month, at a different location each time. CEO of Remember Us Urban Scouts, Miguel Tucker, said it will provide free bicycles, free maintenance, bicycle rides with safety training and free lunches.
"One thing that really impacts people that live in low-income areas is mobility and oftentimes you don’t have the finances to afford a car, you don’t have finances to afford bus fare, and so having bikes and stuff like that is a way to provide mobility,” Ayriq Sims, Program Director, said.
Both Sims and Tucker want to continue creating a bond within the community and want to see kids having fun riding bikes and feeling safe to be doing so in the streets.
“I think it’s very detrimental to a child and community, without these programs a lot of youth are going to go back to the streets. They’re going to get involved in street activities, that’s going to normally lead them to jail or death, if it doesn’t lead down that path it’s going to be lifelong trauma,” Tucker said.
Sims said it’s about creating good experiences and memories for the youth.
He said many times the youth are surrounding with experiences that could be harmful to their growth and they want to be an organization that breaks that cycle.
They can be contacted through their Facebook page.
