In Bakersfield, Calif., a group of bikers have rallied for a good cause.
The biker buddies, many of whom are veterans themselves, heard about a homeless pregnant veteran who came to the California Veterans Assistance Foundation. The do-gooders then took action to galvanize efforts and offer her support, 23 ABC reports.
"We don't know if it's a boy or girl, we just know it's a baby who needs our help," Ben Patten of the Bakersfield Harley-Davidson, which gathered donations, told the news outlet.
After offering her shelter, the organization appealed to the community. That’s when the Armed Forces Support Riders, a group of local riders that provides motorcycle escorts to military members, and the local Harley-Davidson dealership stepped in.
The 32-year-old woman, who wishes to remain nameless, served 12 years in the California National Guard and served one tour in Iraq. She became homeless just six months after leaving the service and is nine-months pregnant, according to the news outlet.
According to a government report released last year, female veteran homelessness rose more than 140 percent between 2006 to 2010. And although 3 percent of all homeless veterans are women, they are more likely to suffer serious psychiatric illness and be unemployed, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless.
In the end, the group's efforts to help this homeless vet paid off. On Feb. 7, the bikers delivered the baby supplies. Facebook photos show the bikers -- some donning veteran jackets and vests -- carrying diapers, toys, car seats, swings and even a changing table onto a truck and then escorting the loot to the foundation.
“The baby stuff is kind of different. That’s why we got a truck here,” Patten told the news outlet. “We’re not putting a bassinet on a motorcycle.”
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