By EllieAna Hale

Della Lamb Community Services has played an important role in the development of Northeast Kansas City. Due to its deep presence in the Kansas City community through advocacy and services, Della Lamb has developed a network of services that aims to move children and families out of poverty and toward an improved quality of life and, ultimately, to self-sufficiency. 

Most recently, a program directed toward refugee resources and services was implemented with the intention of providing strong and sustainable resources to all refugees within the Kansas City area.

A program that was created within the new refugee services, known as Bikes for Refugees, is focusing on providing more than 300 Northeast Kansas City refugees, including adults and children, with bicycles for the purpose of creating sustainable and inclusive transportation for all.

“With employment and enrollment in school, you need transportation options,” Engagement Director of Della Lamb, Cori Wallace said. “So we started getting requests for bikes… for errands, going to school, or just riding around the neighborhood to access resources, a bike is a really good resource to have.”

The service allows for a refugee in the area to come and receive a bike upon request, as well as take advantage of donated resources such as helmets, bike locks and bike repair kits.

“Our goal is to provide a bicycle to every refugee that asks for one for the next year,” Wallace said. “It’s super easy to allow someone access to the neighborhood when they have a bike. A bike offers people more independence than just one transportation option can offer.”

Della Lamb jumped in headfirst and strives to create a sustainable, accessible transportation option for refugees that may not have a chance otherwise to access and utilize it. The program additionally takes on the fight against the social isolation of refugees in the area by allowing for a sense of community amongst access to transportation. 

“One of the core issues that confront refugees, and ultimately the health of the overall community, is the impact of social isolation,” Wallace said. “What we do not need in Kansas City is more communities that are isolated and insular and do not offer bridges out to the amazing resources that this city offers. And I think at a meta-level, what I’m hoping for is to provide avenues for our clients to experience the outside world so they feel less socially isolated.”

The dispersal of bikes amongst refugees allows for new opportunities and relationships to be formed with neighbors that may not be seen otherwise. 

“A direct impact on the community is that it is allowing people to become a part of the workforce,” Wallace said. “It allows people to have a reliable form of transportation to school. Take their bike to the local convenience store. Take their bike to the local grocery store. Take their bike to the local library. All of those are critically important. Even with a free bus system, the bus doesn’t go everywhere in the city.”

Through advocating for individual independence, as well as social relationships within the community itself, Della Lamb has created a balance for refugees to feel more acclimated to the neighborhood, while also finding a sense of home within the new community. 

“We see it as a safer option, we see it as a chance for personal autonomy and independence, and that’s the core of our mission,” Wallace said. 

On a more community service action level, Wallace encourages volunteers from the neighborhood to come and assist Della Lamb in the building of these bikes, as well as, requesting donations of children and adult helmets, bike locks and bike repair kits. 

“If you want to support a refugee community, this is a great way to do it,” Wallace said. “It is an easy way to do it.”

Through the implementation of the project goals that seek to provide this sense of transportation autonomy, a community can be found at the very center of it all. 

“I am excited to serve the refugees in this way because transportation is such a big issue for them,” said Patrick McLaughlin, Della Lamb Board of Directors member and an involved neighbor in Pendleton Heights.

McLaughlin has a deep-rooted connection within the neighborhood and jumped headfirst into working with the new Della Lamb initiative. His involvement within the initiative stems from his connection to the Northeast community as a whole, including the Church of the Resurrection and the Faith and Education cohort with the Kauffman Foundation. Additionally, he is a neighbor and friend to many of the refugees within the area. 

“I have worked with people on the margins for 20 years and it is always rewarding to equip people with the resources they need to be empowered to meet their own needs as they are able,” McLaughlin said. 

Through the Bikes for Refugees initiative, communities are seen to be coming together to provide resources and kindness to those who need it most. 

“I think if you give people an opportunity to find community, they will,” Wallace said. 

Learn more about Della Lamb at www.dellalamb.org.