Once homeless Staffs dad on top of the world after incredible 1,000 mile bike ride for Derventio

A once homeless young Staffordshire dad has finally put the brakes on a staggering 1,000 mile bike ride in aid of Derventio Housing Trust – to say thank you after being helped out of some tough times.

Joe Hodgkins pedalled the entire distance from Land’s End in Cornwall to John O’Groats in Scotland in aid of Derventio which helped him free himself from spiralling debt problems in his early 20s.

Today, Joe is the proud father of Poppy, two, with his partner Chanel. The family live in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

But a few years back, things were not looking so good for Joe. Living in Stafford, he found himself without a career or a home, and sofa surfing with family with no means of freeing himself from his situation or gaining independence.

Thankfully, Joe was put in touch with Derventio Housing Trust through the council and he was able to save up for a place of his own after about five months of regular support with his housing and support officer, who checked in on his progress once or twice a week. He said:

It was a weird situation that I was in, because there was nothing especially big that happened. It was the accumulation of lots of little things, and I was in quite a bit of financial hardship. Being able to just rent somewhere was impossible. I really get on with my family but they didn’t have a spare room to put me up in.

Through Derventio I was able to secure a room in shared accommodation and sort things out.

Joe has never forgotten the help he received through Derventio and over April showed his gratitude by cycling the entire length of the country, supported by Chanel and Poppy who travelled up the country with him, sleeping many nights in a hired camper van. Joe said:

It was an amazing adventure. It was the best thing I’ve ever done, the biggest achievement. By the end, my body had conditioned itself and it was more of a mental battle.

The only organisation I wanted to raise money for was Derventio as they helped me in the past. Their support meant I could get my life back on track.

Joe said the ride across the country had been hard going at the start, as his body was getting used to daily rides of between 45 and 60 miles over a course of 18 days. Scotland brought its own challenges with more hills to negotiate, but there was some stunning scenery to enjoy and little Poppy loved her night times in the hired camper van!

Overall, he said it was a great experience and he has been proud to raise money for Derventio Housing Trust’s Sylvester’s Fund, which pays for one-off items such as fridges, cookers, mobile phones or training courses which help residents move on into independent living.

Jackie Carpenter, assistant director of strategy for Derventio Housing Trust, said:

We are blown away by Joe’s incredible efforts in cycling the whole length of the UK in aid of our Sylvester’s Fund. His story illustrates that homelessness is not necessarily about rough sleeping. There are all sorts of reasons why people need our help and it’s often just an accumulation of little things – as happened with Joe – that leads to people needing our support. We are currently providing accommodation to more than a 100 people in Staffordshire and many of them may have stories just like Joe’s. It would be great if people could support his efforts by donating to his bike ride total.

Joe’s fundraising link for Derventio Housing Trust is still open: to support his ride and Sylvester’s Fund, visit: https://localgiving.org/fundraising/LEJOG-by-joe/