SALISBURY — For many people living with homelessness, getting back on the right track can be hard enough, even with the best intentions.

One obstacle facing many of the area’s unhoused individuals is transportation. A partnership between the Pedal Factory and Rowan Helping Ministries, facilitated by a $2,000 AARP Community Challenge Grant and with generous funding support from Toyota Motor North America, is aiming to get the wheels rolling.

The AARP Community Challenge is a grant program to make tangible improvements in communities that jump-start long-term change. It is part of AARP’s nationwide Livable Communities initiative, which supports the efforts of cities, towns, neighborhoods and rural areas to become great places to live for people of all ages.

On Tuesday, various Salisbury officials were on site for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the installation of new bicycle racks and the improvement of existing ones at Rowan Helping Ministries.

The City of Salisbury was awarded a 2024 AARP Community Challenge Grant to fund this critical infrastructure improvement for Rowan Helping Ministries, which provides essential services to the unsheltered population. The grant, made possible with support from AARP and Toyota Motor North America, will fund additional bicycle parking to meet the growing demand for secure and safe bicycle storage.

Courtney Hunter is the community relations manager for Rowan Helping Ministries.

“AARP came onto our campus and looked at the needs of our clients,” Hunter said.

Hunter added that the “biggest thing” about the event is that Rowan Helping Ministries, Pedal Factory and AARP were working together simultaneously to provide bike racks for someone to have a place to park their transportation. However, Hunter explained that most of their clients do not have reliable transportation, which is where the Pedal Factory comes into play.

“Since the pedal factory is one of our partners, we are able to recommend that they go over to the Pedal Factory to get insight and inform action about obtaining a bicycle of his or her choice,” Hunter said.

Charmaine Miller is the community outreach coordinator for the Pedal Factory. She said that the organization’s Earn a Bike program, also called EAB, is one way to try and get reliable transportation into the hands of some of the clients at Rowan Helping Ministries.

“Our mission is to make bicycles accessible for all,” Miller said. “(With EAB,) you come and schedule an appointment, and you do three volunteer service acts within the shop. You go through a series of bike safety questions as well as small bike safety training … you learn about a few tools. At the end of all that, you receive a bike, a helmet, a lock and light and gloves.”

While many people take transportation for granted, it’s hard to overstate how important it can be in certain areas.

“It’s a need that sometimes is overlooked, but a bicycle can be used for lots of reasons,” Miller said. “Sometimes, a lot of people at RHM may not have that transportation that they need. This bicycle could provide for that.”

That’s not all a bicycle can do, though.

“It’s also a form of recreation,” Miller said. “Sometimes, you go through different events in life and you jump on your bike and take a moment to breathe again and to know you are getting through it. It is, however, they chose to use the bike. It could be for work, recreation or health. It can be used for many components.”

As Hunter explained, having reliable transportation can be key to getting one’s life back on track because it affords stability.

“We have a lot of clients trying to learn about financial literacy, like saving money when he or she gets a job,” Hunter said. “One of the biggest areas of concern is, now I have this job, and I am able to earn money for myself, but my other barrier is my transportation … Now our clients who get jobs are able to feel more secure and get to that job and not risk getting fired.”

It can also make them more productive employees when they are at work.

“Walking can be more exhausting than riding and having a seat to sit on,” Hunter said. “That has empowered them to want to be able to continue to go to work because they feel like they don’t have to walk because now (they) have another alternative.

“That is why getting this grant and working alongside the pedal factory has been a tremendous help.”