Cyclists to wrap a heart around York as they tackle homelessness

A dozen cyclists are to wrap a heart around York, as they raise funds to continue tackling homelessness in the city.

The team will ride 100 miles in a day on Saturday (July 14), completing a heart-shaped route that starts and ends at the Heart of Yorkshire window at the west end of York Minster.

The event is called Putting Homelessness On The Map and organisers hope to raise several thousand pounds on the day.

They will be raising money for Restore, a charity that provides homes and support for people in York who would otherwise be homeless.

The charity works with landlords to lease rooms in shared properties, and provides additional one-to-one support to tenants to help them into a more secure future.

Motivated by love

Cyclists will include tenants, staff, trustees and supporters of the charity. There will also be a garden party at Thorganby, for many more of the charity’s supporters, with the cyclists making a whistlestop visit on their way round the route.

Ed Hambleton, the charity’s senior housing manager, said:

Restore is motivated by love and compassion, so it seemed apt to find a route that would allow us to put homeless on the map and to throw a heart around York at the same time.

Restore provides homes for people who would otherwise be homeless and works with them as they move on with their lives.

We do this in many ways, including by helping find education, training, work-experience opportunities, therapies and mentors.

One of the cyclists, a Restore tenant who didn’t want to be named, said: “Restore has done quite a lot. They’ve helped me through my mental health, helped me with my life generally, dealing with day to day things, and they’ve been there when I’ve needed them.

“They guide us but also leave us to our own initiative, to try and get by without smothering or mothering us too much. It’s brilliant.”

The cyclists will set off from the Minster at 9am, and hope to arrive back by nightfall, having completed a route that includes