Picture this: a young boy peeks through the curtains out his Squamish window. He's nervous because today is his day to go to court to testify against his abuser.
Suddenly, up the street come a group of burly bikers in black leather vests adorned with red and black patches.
They came because the boy wanted them to.
The bikers will escort him to court and accompany him to anything else he wants, for as long as he wants.
Though a fictional child in this case, this scenario is a real example of just one of the supportive things members of Bikers Against Child Abuse will do, according to Rich Poulin, the provincial secretary and vice-president of the Greater Vancouver chapter of BACA.
The not-for-profit organization aims to empower vulnerable kids to feel safer, said Poulin, who goes by the biker name Pooh Bear, a play on his name and his love for the Winnie the Pooh character.
"It is so cool when you see that first child, and they are very timid and scared, they are not sure what to make of it and then all of a sudden they see all these bikers show up," he said. "It is very unconventional, but they realize someone else has their back."
The process begins with an authorized individual or agency referring the child to the biker organization. A liaison then verifies that the child's situation has been reported to police and gone through official channels.
If so, the biker liaison then contacts the family, and an initial ride is organized to meet the child wherever the child will feel most comfortable.
The organization's chapter members ride to meet the child, who is then given the phone number of two members who live nearby.
"Anytime the child feels scared and feels the need for the presence of his new BACA family, the child may call upon these bikers to go to the child's house and provide the necessary reassurance to feel safe and protected," the organization's website states.
Poulin, who is a safety lead for a construction company at his day job, got involved with the biker group because of what he saw as a kid, with some children he knew who were abused.
"I wished there was something out there that would help," he recalled.
He eventually heard about Bikers Against Child Abuse and began to follow the work they do.
He currently spends 20 to 30 hours a week volunteering with the group.
It is totally worth it, he said.
He recalls the first child he had a role in helping.
The bikers rolled up to a restaurant to support a little girl.
Because it was snowy and cold, the bikers traded their motorbikes for vehicles.
"There was probably 27 or 28 of us, and we just had lunch, and we sat around a table and got to know her," he said. "You could just see that confidence sort of come instantly. It is something pretty cool."
Another situation saw Poulin, and other members escort a frightened girl who quit school, back to class.
"We went to her house. I was honoured that she was on the back of my bike and we rode and drove her to school," he said. "So we were definitely the talk of the school that day.
To become a primary contact, a biker has to be cleared through background checks and have ridden with the chapter for a year. Biker mentors are given training by mental health professionals.
Bikers Against Child Abuse can become a tight-knit family for the vulnerable child, Poulin said.
Female members are a big reason why the organization works, he added.
"A lot of the times it is a girl who has been abused, and chances are by a man, so now you have all of these ugly biker guys, the last thing they do is want to open up… So, [the women] bridge that gap tremendously."
Poulin acknowledged that outside of biker circles, the BACA isn't well understood.
"We aren't a riding group or a motorcycle club. We are a non-profit organization," he said.
When going into a community, the bikers inform local law enforcement to ensure they don't raise suspicion in the community, Poulin said.
Bikers Against Child Abuse was founded in 1995 by John Paul "Chief" Lilly, a U.S. social worker and play therapist. Lilly saw a need to help abused children feel safe and secure as they worked through the justice system and beyond.
The group can be found in more than 15 countries around the world.
There are eight chapters in B.C.
Poulin's chapter does charity a ride up the Sea to Sky Highway each summer.
For more information go to bacaworld.org/.
