Post COVID Program Update

As the government moves into stage four of lifting restrictions, things are ramping up here at Dismantle. Term 3 is set to be our busiest ever, with the full gamut of regular BikeRescue programs running, in addition to those that were postponed due to the pandemic. BikeRescue is in full swing over the July school holidays and as many as 15 during term 3. 

ReNew is back in action after getting by with a skeleton crew during the pandemic, as most trainees had to be temporarily stood down. Trainees kept in touch with their mentors over social media during lockdown, and continued to receive social support and training while they were at home. The team is very happy to be back on the tools now and have hit the ground running with hands on training at Kennards Hire and are busy servicing ReNew's latest client, Spotless.

Our Karratha BikeRescue Local program is gearing up for the next stage, with facilitator training scheduled to take place during the first week of August. Several new partners have been confirmed or are in the pipeline, including City of Karratha and Roebourne District High School, who will be contributing funds to the project and having staff trained as facilitators. Karratha village will also be coming on board, a mining workers’ accommodation service run by Civeo, will be providing financial support and in kind access to accommodation. 

Congratulations to our raffle winners! Drumroll please...

Thank you to all who entered our Build-A-Bike raffle fundraiser this year. The proceeds go directly back into supporting young people doing it tough across WA and every contribution makes a difference.

And the winners are:

1. First Prize [Build-A-Bike Team Challenge] - Mark Pace | Karrinyup

2. Second Prize [Kart Centre Race Group Team Package] - John Barnett | Claremont

3. Third Prize - [Nitro Circus CX3 Pro Scooter] - John Barnett | Claremont

Congratulations to our lucky winners and a big thank you to The Kart Centre and Todd Meyn for generously donating two of our prizes!

BikeRescue Local to launch in Karratha, Roebourne and Wickham

BIKES, BUSINESS & COMMUNITY AGENDAS COLLIDE TO HELP AT-RISK TEENS IN KARRATHA REGION

Established Perth youth development NFP, Dismantle, will be delivering their flagship BikeRescue Local program to the greater Karratha region in 2020 thanks to the collaboration of community and local business efforts. The funds raised enable training and development to extend for 2 years, so that local Karratha youth services can continue the program, independent from Dismantle’s support.

The 10 week bike restoration program sees at-risk teens re-engaging through skills based, hands-on mentoring from local youth workers, to get them back on track and better equipped to deal with personal challenges. Working with over 400 disadvantaged young people each year, Dismantle is nationally recognised as a standout success story for positively impacting teens who are otherwise falling through the cracks. CEO Pat Ryan on BikeRescue; “the program allows youth workers to act as bike mechanics in disguise; building rapport with young people who are having a tough time. Over the course of the program, not only do we build bikes and skills in the process, we also build trust, confidence, pride in finishing something and new sense of motivation for the future.” 

BikeRescue has already seen success in regional areas but The Karratha Project is the first example of a long-term commitment embedding the program into a region for a significant period of time. This commitment has largely been made possible by funding from a consortium of businesses including, PowerTechowertech.com.au/, Fugro, KAW Engineering, Robe River Aboriginal Corporation, Kennards Hire Foundation, Yaandina Community Group and the City of Karratha.

Results from previous BikeRescue programs have included a significant lift in school attendance and a positive shift in confidence and general wellbeing of participants. The program has also led to a decreased incidence of anti-social and risk behaviours, with Police reporting in one area that, “it’s the first time in 7 years that there have been no juvenile related offences in a week during the school holidays. There was a clear connection between engaging this cohort in a productive activity [Bike Rescue] and a zero-crime school holiday week.” 

BikeRescue is set to launch in early 2020 in three locations across Karratha, Roebourne and Wickham.