City Will Fund Youth Jobs At Shuttered Northwest Side Bike Shop
By Sarah Gouda in News on Apr 11, 2016 8:50PM
The Mayor's Office announced on Sunday that the city will provide over $150,000 in funding to Bikes N' Roses, a Belmont Cragin bike shop that provides youth employment opportunities through the One Summer Chicago program.
Bikes N' Roses was forced to shut down earlier this year after Gov. Bruce Rauner froze the $276,000 typically reserved for the shop as part of the state's ongoing budget impasse. Launched in 2011, the bike shop is a youth employment program run by non-profit organization Communities United and teaches high-school kids how to fix and ride bikes. More importantly, the program keeps youth engaged and learning through the summer months, a time of year often marked by restlessness, languor and upticks in crime. Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the funding Monday.
“The summer months are when our children need us the most, which is why we must step in when the state will not,” he said at a statement. “A summer job is more than a paycheck, it provides our children with the right set of values today to help them make the right set of choices tomorrow.”
Because of the city's investment, the Belmont Cragin location of Bikes N' Roses will restore 20 year-round jobs and 50 youth-employment opportunities through One Summer Chicago. The shop also has an Albany Park location serves a community of over 2,000 people and employs 15 students who help repair bikes for local cyclists. One Summer Chicago now provides over 25,000 summer employment opportunities for young adults aged 14 to 24—this year is set to be the largest yet.
It seems Rahm's commitment to the youth program is meant to send a message to the state government. The Sun-Times reports that, as he stood in front of Bikes N' Roses Belmont Cragin location, he told a group of young bike mechanics that "I would like the state of Illinois to see the kids here as an example to invest in rather than as a way to pull the money and pull the rug from underneath them."
Thankfully, the money provided from the city will keep Bikes N' Roses up and running through the summer and beyond. We spoke with Communities United Board President Diane Limus, who expressed her excitement over the partnership with the mayor's office.
"The program is just so important, because not only do the youth learn the mechanics of fixing bikes, they also learn how to deal with the public, put together a budget, and run a business," she said. "No matter what they do after it really prepares them for the working world."