1. INTRODUCTION:
Changing Gears is a volunteer-run program that Bicycling in
Greensboro (BIG) established in 2007 to provide reliable, economical
transportation for bicycle recipients to access jobs, medical care, healthy food,
and housing. Clients are adults who are currently homeless or transitioning in or
out of homelessness and are referred to the program by the Interactive
Resource Center (IRC). The IRC is an innovative day center for homeless or
people facing homelessness that allows clients to reconnect with themselves
and the community; they offer showers, laundry facilities, computers, phones,
resume writing, and more for clients. Changing Gears recipients receive a
refurbished bike, front and rear lights, a helmet, and a lock.
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION:
Although the people selected for the giveaway are selected by
the IRC, this does not control for who shows up to actually receive the
bike. For the demographics, we want to discern whether the
populations receiving the bike matched other data out there on
homeless populations. This is difficult in that homelessness ranges
from a single incidence to a lifelong struggle, making concrete
demographics hard to come by. According to US census data, the
median age of homeless persons are fifty and tend to be men, which
shows the bike giveaway is targeting the right populations (Fazel,
Geddes, Kushel 2014). We also want to ensure when we intake the
demographics that we know their employment so that when we
administer the follow up survey there could be a traceable employment
change, leading the Changing Gears knowing if they have made an
impact on employment.
Another aspect that we are tracing is their change in the self-
reported health status. Homeless people have been found to have
higher rates of premature mortality than the rest of the population, and
an increased prevalence of a range of infectious diseases, mental
disorders, and substance misuse (Fazel, Geddes, Kushel 2014). Over
half of the population (61.2%) rates their health as excellent or very
good, while no one has answered poor. This high rating of self-
perceived health could be the result of worrying they may not get a bike
if they are ill and/or the fact that there is an onsite clinic that comes
regularly to the IRC. In Canada’s community health survey 8% of
Canadians rated their health fair or poor compared to our 9% intake
data being fair (Ahmad, Anuroop, Bierman, Burghardt 2014). This
shows that although at first glance this may seem high, there is a trend
of self-reporting having a high amount of good health ratings.
The follow up survey administration is less concrete at this
time. We only have nineteen completed surveys. Contacting homeless
individuals is difficult because often they don’t keep phone numbers for
long and checking email is inconsistent. So far, our tactic is to attend
events at the IRC and ask individuals if they have received a bike
through the program. On giveaways, we have bike mechanics on hand
to fix bikes and we often find previous recipients there. We have just
received a grant to continue trying to figure out how to reach out to past
recipients to see how their lives have been impacted by the program
REFERENCES
Ahmad, F, Anuroop, KJ, Bierman, AS, Burghardt, M, Stewart, DE. Single
item measures of self-rated mental health: a scoping review. BMC
Health Serv Res. 2014; 14: 398. doi: 10.1186/1472-6963-14-398.
Fazel, S, Geddes JR, Kushel, M. The health of homeless people in high-
income countries: descriptive epidemiology, health consequences, and
clinical and policy recommendations. Lancet. 2014; 384(9953): 1529-
RESEARCH GOAL:
The aim of the project is to develop methods to evaluate the reach and
impact of Changing Gears, a community program by BIG that provides bicycles
and teaches safe bicycling skills to an
average of ten homeless and near homeless individuals per month through the
IRC.
METHODS:
Contact other bicycling advocacy organizations to identify and request
existing questionnaires and best practices for evaluating programs that provide
bicycles and safety training to economically disadvantaged populations. Develop
the baseline and follow-up questionnaires from existing and proposed questions.
Administer surveys to Changing Gears recipients and collect data. Analyze the
data collected for 2015 and write an evaluation report. Changing Gears will use
the evaluation to make assessments about how to expand and improve the
Changing Gears program and to support grant proposals.
DATA COLLECTION:
Based off the information we collected from contacting organizations,
we evaluated each intake and follow-up survey for it’s applicability to our aim of
evaluating the reach and impact of Changing Gears. The intake survey is
administered in person orally by the graduate students on the project or trained
volunteers at the start of the bike giveaway day. The administration of the follow-
up survey is less concrete at this time and is a work in progress. Once the
information is collected, we input the individual surveys into a Google form that is
connected to a Google sheet.
Formative evaluation of Changing Gears - a community program to provide
bicycles and safe bicycling skills training to homeless and near homeless
individuals
INTAKE SURVEY RESULTS:
Researchers: Gillian Adler, BA, Laura Rolke, BS, Mark Schulz, PhD, Alicia Mayhand
TABLE ONE: Demographics, Employment and Self-Perceived Health
Age Frequency Recipient Percentage IRC Percentage
40 & Younger 14 20.90% 24.7
41 & Older 53 79.1 64.3
Missing
4.6
Race
White 11 16.4 17.3
Black/African American 53 79.1 81.7
American Indian or Alaska Native 1 1.5 0
Other 2 3 1
Gender
Female 12 17.9 33.9
Male 55 82.1 65
Self-Perception of Health
Excellent 15 22.4
Very Good 26 38.8
Good 19 28.4
Fair 6 9
Missing 1 1.5
Employment
Full-Time 11 16.4
Part-Time 16 23.9
Seasonal 3 4.5
Enrolled in Workforce Training 2 3
Unemployed, Searching for Work 28 41.8
Unemployed, Unable to Work 6 9
Missing 1 1.5
Table Two: Transportation
Habits
Everyday Most Days (4-6) Some Days (1-3) Never
Bicycle 9% 1.5% 19.4% 70.1%
Walk 80.6% 6% 11.9% 1.5%
Bus 26.9% 26.9% 34.3% 11.9%
Taxi 1.5% 1.5% 7.5% 89.6%
Drive a Car 0% 3% 3% 94%
Get a ride with someone 3% 4.5% 46.3% 46.3%
Shuttle service * 0% 1.5% 6% 89.6%
Table Four: Reasons for
no bike
Frequency Percent
Cost 49 73.1
Did not know how to ride a
bicycle 2 3
No place to store a bicycle 15 22.4
Not enough time to ride a
bike 5 7.5
Did not think bicycling was
safe 4 6
Health reasons 10 14.9
Bike was stolen 30 44.8
Other 7 10.4
Table Three: Plans to use the Bike Percent
Work/Workforce Training 83.6
To look for work 67.2
Running errands/going to shops 82.1
School 35.8
Place of Worship 57.2
Recreation/exercise 94
Meetings/social activities 80.6
Other 9