Four members of the Crossroads Mission in Yuma visited Tucson recently to find out what the BICAS “buzz” is all about.
Directors of the Yuma gospel based mission center heard about the good work BICAS (Bicycle Inter-Community Art and Salvage) is doing for the community and wanted to discover for themselves if the “buzz” was true.
The truth could lead to a duplication of the program in Yuma, although not under the same banner. The Mission would start its own program fashioned after BICAS, according to Executive Director of the Crossroads Mission Myra Garlit.
Garlit said jobs are hard to find, especially for folks who find themselves at the crossroads of life. Her organization is committed to helping individuals by getting them in various programs which can lead to stable employment and independent living.
“People are having a tough time finding jobs. Once they get a job they don’t have transportation,” she said, adding that it would be a good idea to provide bikes as transportation.
Garlit praised BICAS and made special note of the line of people waiting to get in before the shop opened. “I’m sure there are a lot of business' that would like to have that many people waiting to get in,” she said.
The BICAS mission is to “promote education, art, and a healthy environment while providing service and opportunity for those in need,” according to its web site.
BICAS began in 1989 as Bootstraps to Share and has since grown into a community advocacy and education group focused on sustainable transportation. They have educated thousands of Tucson residents in bicycle safety, repair and restoration of bikes. They are located at 44 W 6th St. in the Warehouse Arts District.
Hard pressed Yuma residents share the same needs as Tucson residents. “They need to get a job, they need to get into society and they need to be able to have transportation,” Crossroads Mission Development Director Bill Donnelly said.
“By getting involved in an organization like BICAS they (homeless) can come in, invest themselves through their work (on bikes) at a BICAS like facility and earn their bike, thereby investing in themselves and thereby getting transportation to go out and get that job,” said Donnelly.
The idea that they earned their transportation allows for a level of self esteem, he said, adding that will help them in their job search.
Donnelly looked around the BICAS shop and said “Something is working here.” He too was amazed at the line of people waiting to get in.
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