As light rain drizzled, Dax Imber rode his motorcycle by the Burnt Bridge Creek homeless encampment in central Vancouver. He called out to a few people lingering by their tents to let them know that food and clothing were available just across the road.
Before long, people started making their way over, greeted by the warm smiles of volunteers from the Bikers Outreach Organization.
A group of motorcyclists and passionate community members dedicated to helping their neighbors founded Bikers Outreach Organization last fall. From assisting homeless people to supporting domestic violence survivors, the volunteers have made it their mission to bring positive change to their community.
The group operates with the motto, “Bringing comfort to the uncomfortable.”
“We are basically just a bunch of people who got together to do good in the world, but it was difficult to do on our own,” B.O.O. President Dan Brown said. “So we create a family where all of us have the same ideals in life and want to make the world a better place.”
How to help
Volunteers don’t need to ride a motorcycle to join Bikers Outreach Organization, organizers said. To learn more or to join Bikers Outreach Organization, visit bikersoutreach.org
Bringing comfort
Several members had previously been involved in similar community outreach initiatives but wanted to do more. So, they branched out on their own.
“A bunch of us had a passion for wanting to help,” Imber said. “It was pretty easy to throw together some food, get some blankets and go around to help people.”
The group has since expanded to about 12 members who conduct outreach activities twice a month.
“Anybody who reaches out to us or that we find in the community that is in need of any kind of assistance, we reach out and say, ‘Hey, how can we help you? What can we do?’” Brown said.
The day before Christmas Eve, the group fixed the front door for someone whose abusive partner kicked it in.
Through their work, they have assisted hundreds of people. Those include three families Bikers Outreach Organization helped secure temporary and permanent housing through collaborations with other organizations, Imber said.
“It’s been as simple as getting them the websites, helping them fill out the applications,” he explained. “One family, I drove them to their appointment because it was too far for them and their baby to travel by bus.”
Mostly self-funded, the group has transformed Imber’s living room into a storage space filled with outreach supplies and donations. B.O.O. collects such items as steel-toed boots for those seeking employment, as well as jackets and hygiene kits made by community members.
In addition to outreach work, Bikers Outreach Organization has partnered with other community initiatives and organizations, like Oregon Vanished. The biker group has helped the Oregon-based effort search for missing people in the Columbia River near the Interstate 205 Bridge using Imber’s boat.
“Last year, we went through five tanks of fuel searching up and down the river. We used sonar, cameras and even did a bit of accidental diving trying to find people,” Imber said.
The group is also collaborating with the Oregon-based organization MMIW Search and Hope Alliance for a May fundraiser dedicated to the awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women and people.
“We’re definitely trying to partner with anyone who is having a positive impact in the community,” Brown said.
Future plans
Jennifer Hubbard stood on the bed of a truck and called out jacket sizes with a smile as she handed them out to people from a Vancouver homeless encampment. Nearby, Emily Brown and other volunteers passed out food and hygiene kits, chatting warmly with everyone they met, while Chris Larson worked her way around the area, collecting stray trash.
After finishing up, they headed to another camp across town. They stopped at several spots on Sunday, including small clusters where volunteers knew many of the residents by name. Those they didn’t know, they would by the end of the day.
“This is a blessing and greatly appreciated. I’m absolutely positive they have saved multiple lives,” one resident of the Burnt Bridge Creek encampment said.
The volunteer group is saving up money to build a shed on Imber’s property so that people can have some privacy as they look through the donations. The group also wants to convert a trailer into a mobile shower unit. The group plans to offer a change of clothes, as well as haircuts.
“I’ve been there, done that and not being able to shower, have a haircut, shave — you just start to feel more and more entrenched in the life that you’re in and it feels like you have no escape. But when I went through it myself, when I could hop in the shower, I felt like a new person,” said Dan Brown, who has experienced homelessness himself.
The volunteers said they’ve found it rewarding to get to know their neighbors, hearing their stories.
“It’s about giving them that time so they know they are an individual that should be cared for and cared about,” Dan Brown said. “Then taking the time to let them know, ‘I’m not here because I’m better than you. I’m here because I care about you and have the ability through this community we’ve built to help you.’”
Members of the group have also formed a strong bond among themselves. Dan Brown noted that making friends as an adult can be tough, but this shared mission has created a meaningful connection with like-minded people.
“We now have this brotherhood and sisterhood, and we’re not going to let it die,” Imber said. “We can do so much good together.”
