Free laundry service for the homeless an opportunity for support and engagement

07 Sep 2016

By The Record

Founders Nick Marchesi and Lucas Patchett with their Orange Sky Laundry van. Photo: Provided

By Caroline Smith

For most people, freshly-washed clothes are something that can often be taken for granted, but among more than 150 people who sleep rough in Perth every night, it may not be so simple.

In response to this need, a group of enthusiastic volunteers has been taking to the streets since the beginning of this year in a brightly-coloured van complete with two washing machines and two driers, providing a free mobile laundry service in various locations around the city.

Launched in March, this service is the Western Australian branch of Orange Sky Laundry, – an organisation first set up in Brisbane in 2014 by Nick Marchesi and Lucas Patchett – two young men who realised that people living on the streets had few options when it came to cleaning their clothes.

Mr Marchesi and Mr Patchett – who have been honoured as 2016 Young Australians of the Year – were only 19 when they set up Orange Sky Laundry, and said they had been inspired by previous social justice work they’d done at St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace, in Brisbane.

Starting on the streets of Brisbane, they built up a free laundry service which has now spread to eight more locations around Australia: the Gold Coast, Sydney, the Sunshine Coast, two locations in Melbourne, Canberra, Perth and Adelaide.

Perth Service Manager Andrew Mill said Orange Sky Laundry provided volunteers with an opportunity not only to help homeless people, but to engage with them meaningfully.

“Ultimately, our genuine, positive conversations with friends on the street are probably more important than the simple service of washing and drying clothes,” he said.

“One of the nice things about our service is that it takes between 45 and 60 minutes to complete a load of washing.

“We feel privileged to be able to spend this time with friends on the street and to connect with them through conversation.”

The Perth branch of Orange Sky Laundry is made up of 55 volunteers, who together conduct eight weekly services through Northbridge, Highgate and Fremantle, where their van (nicknamed the ‘Jelley Fish’ after sponsors the Jelley Family Foundation) cleans and dries clothes free of charge.

Mr Mill said the Perth branch was planning to add a ninth service later on this year, given the need and positive response from the community.

“We’ve been lucky to receive overwhelmingly positive responses from both the general community and the homeless community,” he said.

“Almost all of our weekly services are operating at full capacity, in terms of washing volume.

“I’m confident that we will add additional ones over the coming months.”

Orange Sky Laundry has also gained support from corporate sectors, including National ‘Doing Good Partners’ the Good Guys and ‘National Servicing Partner’ Richard Jay. The Perth service is supported by the Jelley Family Foundation and Sage Foundation.