Video by Rebecca Bever.
Flat tires and loose chains bring kids from all over the downtown Phoenix area into Barrio Works. The desire to earn a bike for free keeps them coming back.
The bike shop, an offshoot of faith-based non-profit organization Neighborhood Ministries, operates out of a warehouse on the Ministries property just north of Van Buren Street on 19th Avenue. A maze of bikes for sale sits underneath the open garage at the front of the shop. The plywood-covered walls are strewn with bike tires, wrenches and chains. The constant hum of the air conditioner almost drowns out the sound of passing trains while children work diligently at two large wooden tables in the center of the room.
This is where used and broken bikes come to be reborn.
Barrio Works, taken over by Chris Williams in 2007, features a program that gives children from the neighborhood an opportunity to earn a bike through accumulating hours working at the shop.
“This is a way for me to hang out with kids in the neighborhood, a place where I live and work and love to be,” says Williams. “They love bikes, they’re going to be here just because they think it’s fun to be here, so it’s just a way to mentor them and give back to the community.”
On Wednesday afternoons from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., about a dozen kids flock to the shop. Elementary and middle school boys and girls sign in, break out the tools and get to work repairing bicycles. “Chris? Chris can you help me?” they incessantly ask with blue-stained mouths (the lady on the corner sells snow cones and they can’t seem to get enough).
Miguel Aragon, 10, first came to Barrio Works after a friend told him the shop could help repair his flat tire. Williams helped him out and he now attends classes every Wednesday. Jane Lara, a 9-year-old who lives down the street, has been coming to Barrio Works since 2007. Her older brother Jose attended classes first and her curiosity and longing to earn a bike of her own followed close behind. After a child has logged 10 to 15 hours of time working in the shop, they can then “buy” a bike with their hours.
The shop is actively seeking donated bikes in repairable condition. The revamped bikes that aren’t earned by the kids are sold as a way to generate revenue to fund the program. Barrio Works operates under the non-profit 501(c) designation of Neighborhood Ministries. Therefore, all revenue earned is funneled back into the program.
Williams and Barrio Works hope to zero in on Arizona State University students and downtown residents for sale of the cruisers.
“I definitely would love to figure out a situation [for] ASU students who wanted to buy a bike [but] are done with it at the end of the year — we’ll buy it back or something like that,” Williams says. “We haven’t figured out all the ins and outs of what the right program would be, but we would love to figure out a buy-back policy and then we could resell it used to our community — make it more accessible to folks here.”
When the economy tanked, so did much of Barrio’s private donations. In an effort to make the shop more self-reliant, Barrio has launched its own line of bicycles. The shop expects their first shipment of 20 Barrio-brand bicycles to arrive in the coming weeks. Beach cruisers will be sold for $325 and can be customized with a number of accessories and colors.
“Bikes are a form of transportation in the community. A lot of people rely on it every day to get to work. They can’t afford cars,” Williams says. “It helps the community but it actually brings a business to the community. It helps pay for the program and we can hire our own kids. Those are all win-wins.”
Contact the report at alexis.getscher@asu.edu.
