Stell Simonton
Kids gather outside Bearings Bike Shop in Atlanta on a Saturday afternoon. They earn their own bikes as they learn the mechanics of bike assembly and repair. They also get experience in communicating, problem-solving and persisting.
Last spring, COVID-19 put the brakes on after-school activities at Bearings Bike Shop in Atlanta.
But on a recent Saturday, a gaggle of kids on bikes clustered outside the building before speeding off down busy Murphy Avenue.
“We just reopened at the end of October,” said Becky O’Mara, co-founder and director of development for Bearings.
The youth development and bike repair nonprofit is back with its drop-in program on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons. Kids come to the site, learn how to assemble and fix bikes, and in doing so earn credits to get a bike of their own.
“That learning experience creates a great environment to learn in a very hands-on way soft skills like communication, critical thinking, responsibility, self-management and perseverance,” O’Mara said. It’s intended to help young people build self-confidence, gain job skills, take advantage of opportunities and reach their goals.
The shop is located in Adair Park, one of the neighborhoods where youth face a lot of adversity.
It’s where Becky and Tim O’Mara moved 12 years ago, a white couple in a predominantly Black neighborhood.
Tim O’Mara had previously worked in a warehouse and then in videography. Because he hadn’t finished high school, he had to teach himself the skills that made him employable, his wife said.
“So he especially just resonated and related to a lot of the young men we were getting to know,” Becky O’Mara said. They’re young men who didn’t have a five-year plan and didn’t know where they were headed.
The O’Maras started helping neighborhood kids earn bikes and the idea of a nonprofit organization grew. The idea was both to teach kids and strengthen the sense of community. Helping young people develop also fit with their religious faith.
The drop-in program was designed for kids who might not come to a formal after-school program, O’Mara said.
“They’re out there with their friends in the streets” and they come in and learn to build a bike, she said. “And we get to build relationships with them.”
It’s open to kids ages 6 to 17, but the majority are ages 9 to 13. They advance through levels in the program, and are able to earn a bike, helmet and bike lock.
About 60 are currently involved, down from the 200 who participated before the pandemic.
Bearings also had a formal program with four Atlanta schools, but it’s on hold since Atlanta Public Schools is operating remotely. A summer internship program for teens is also on hold.
Bearings has a sales and repair shop that helps fund the nonprofit. And the organization has seen a great deal of growth. Three years ago, it launched a $2.25 million capital campaign for a new building.
The drop-in program now takes place in a new glass-front 6,000-square-foot structure next to its old metal building surrounded by a chain-link fence.
