Partnership is Key to Achieving Success at St Joseph’s
08/09/2023
At St. Joseph’s Bike Project, Achieve’s CFO3 teams are helping participants to build skills and give back to the local community.
St Joseph’s is an approved premises in Greater Manchester, supporting offenders with mental health needs who are released on license.
In 2015 the St Joseph’s Bike Project was created, part-funded by the European Social Fund. The Bike Project teaches participants new mechanical skills while helping them to improve their social and work-related skills. The project is run in partnership with the Margaret Carey Foundation.
An Achieve CFO3 Case Manager works with St Josephs, identifying suitable candidates to become participants in the Bike Project.
The support they receive is two-fold. Participants work with a St Joseph’s bike manager, learning to repair and recycle broken bicycles.
The first bike they repair is donated to charity, teaching participants the importance of giving back to society. The second repaired bike is theirs to keep, for travel to interviews and commuting to jobs.
Throughout this process, an Achieve CFO3 Case Manager works with every participant, providing one-to-one education and employability training. The tailored support they receive helps prepare them for the world of work.
This holistic approach helps promote each participant’s sense of independence in a positive and cost-effective way.
Throughout the repair project, participants work both independently and as teams. They learn to follow instructions and develop their team-working, problem solving and task completion skills.
The Benefits
So far in 2023, Achieve has supported 28 men onto the St Joseph’s Bike Project. Eight participants have been supported into full-time employment with warehousing, construction and installation businesses. Others have enrolled on courses in Construction Skills Certification Skills (CSCS), Personal Track Safety and Road Traffic Management.
Achieve CFO3 support includes obtaining ID documentation, travel passes and work clothing. Additionally, the organisation has assisted with benefits claims, driving licenses and bank accounts.
Nicholl Hardwick, Service Manager from the Achieve CFO3 team said: “St Joseph’s Bike Project lets participants apply themselves to a cause with positive impacts for themselves and others. The people we support are learning to make meaningful contributions to society once more.
“The process is often filled with laughter, conversations, the sharing of knowledge and a real sense of teamwork and achievement. This helps nurture each participant’s desire to get out and work with their hands.
“Partnership working is crucial to the success of the project. The St Joseph’s bike manager plays a key role in building relationships with project participants. Meanwhile, Achieve CFO3 Case Workers hold regular weekly appointments to help them tackle any arising issues.
“Many of our participants are extremely motivated to succeed, having either served long custodial sentences, or just want to turn their lives around. The sense of achievement they feel with each cycle repair is genuinely touching to witness and the Project’s undeniable benefits are testament to its effectiveness.”
Click here to find out more about St Josephs’s Bike Project.