For some, a bicycle is convenient. But for others, it can be a stepping stone to a better life.
Operating on this idea, a group of UF graduates and current students have partnered up with The Kickstand to give repaired bicycles to poor and homeless patrons at the Gainesville Catholic Worker House.
Seven bicycles have already been given away, all to homeless people. One bicycle was given to a man who found a new job but needed transportation to get there, one was given to a man who had just had his bike stolen and another bike went to a disabled man who needed a way to get to his doctor/s appointments.
To start, the group bought 30 used bicycles from Craigslist last month to fix up.
They then met on June 7 and again on Sunday to repair some of the used bicycles at The Kickstand, a community bicycles shop located on South Main Street that helps people repair their own bikes.
So far a total of 12 bikes have been repaired according to Johnny Zokovitch, founder of the Gainesville Catholic Worker House, which he runs out of his private home.
Zokovitch thinks it is a great thing the former UF students and The Kickstand employees are doing, he said.
"It showed a lot of initiative on their parts to address a need that is really apparent to people who are homeless," he said. "These bikes will help people who are trying to help themselves get back on the path to self-sufficiency and get out of poverty."
Zokovitch shared a story of a homeless minister who received a bicycle on Monday.
"He ministers to those who are less fortunate than he is," Zokovitch said. "The camp sites that he goes to are far apart, but now this bike will make it easier for him to bring them supplies."
Nam Nguyen, the UF alumnus who bought the bikes, said he saw the listing for the unwanted bikes on Craigslist and thought it would be a good opportunity to help people.
"The bikes only cost us about ,5 or ,6 a piece," he said. "But I figured people would appreciate the bike a lot more [than ,5 or ,6] because this gives a form of transportation to people who can/t afford it."
Zokovitch said it was good instinct on their part to satisfy a need that is overlooked.
"People usually think food, clothing and blankets as things homeless people need, but a bike is a real upgrade in a person/s ability to be able to make changes in their lives," he said.
"For [the homeless] the bike represented a real sense of possibility and hope."
Kelly Jones, one of the former UF students helping with the bike project, thanked The Kickstand for providing them with the time, space, supplies and expertise they needed to repair the bikes.
Rajeeb Das, board member of The Kickstand, said that the community bike shop was started to help people like Nguyen and Jones and those who receive help from the Gainesville Catholic Worker House.
"That/s exactly why we exist," Das said, "to help people like them, who don/t know how to fix a bike or have the resources to do it."
