Bike scheme supports people with mental health problems in Derby
A mental health recovery house in Derby has teamed up with two local bike companies to set up a free cycle scheme to promote healthy living.
Residents at Trevayler, a medium term recovery service run by Richmond Fellowship, part of Recovery Focus, the national group of mental health and substance misuse charities, have swapped four wheels for two in an effort to promote healthy living.
The ‘on yer bike’ cycle scheme has been well received by residents who no longer have to rely on taxis or the bus to go to the shop, visit friends or relatives in the city or engage in community activities.
Will Fisher, recovery worker at Trevayler, praised the benefits of the scheme saying: “On yer bike is there to help encourage social inclusion and promote healthy living for residents.
“People have been using the bikes to visit friends and family in town and are no longer reliant on taxis. Long term this will have a great effect on people’s health and we’re hoping to expand the scheme to get more bikes and set up group rides to areas like the Peak District.”
The multi purpose mountain bikes were purchased from Hawk Cycles in Coventry with Derby based Home Bike Services helping to build the bikes and ensuring they were road safe and ready for residents to use.
Trevayler provides short term support packages for people living with mental health problems to give them the skills and confidence to move on to independent living.
The ‘on yer bike’ scheme is just one of their community focussed projects that has helped support people integrating in the community and improve resident’s physical and mental health.
Joe Redmond, managing director for Richmond Fellowship (north), said: “The ‘on yer bike’ scheme is a fantastic project that has seen some excellent results.
“For residents wanting to visit the city or go to the shops, having these bikes to hand helps remove the obstacles of public transport or walking. Regular biking also helps to increase people’s physical health and confidence which helps with our overall work at Trevayler.”
There are plans to expand the service by increasing the number of bikes they have and organising biking trips to the Peak District to help more people at Trevayler.
