wellway
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,877
Jun 25, 2014 20:50:09 GMT
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Post by wellway on May 23, 2018 6:11:28 GMT
The number of homeless on the street of Athens is mindboggling but kudos to these men for trying to make a difference.
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Post by mom on May 23, 2018 6:46:26 GMT
Love this so much!
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Post by corinne11 on May 23, 2018 7:12:19 GMT
Orange Sky was the first one of these here in Australia. These guys do a great job of bringing simple dignity to people- we take having clean clothes for granted. We also have a few barbers/hairdressers going around in vans providing hair washing/beard/hair cuts.
From their website -
Orange Sky Australia is the world’s first free mobile laundry service for people experiencing homeless – an idea founded in a Brisbane garage by two 20-year-old mates. Nic Marchesi and Lucas Patchett installed a couple of washing machines and dryers in the back of their old van, visiting parks in Brisbane to wash and dry clothes for free. With an aim to improve hygiene standards and restore dignity to people doing it tough, they stumbled on something much bigger and more significant – the power of a conversation. Now facilitated by more than 1000 volunteers, Orange Sky has expanded to 20 services across Australia and generates over six tonnes of laundry every week. Most importantly, Orange Sky volunteers have engaged in more than 100,000 hours of conversations to date, helping to dispel myths about homelessness and positively connect communities all around Australia.
Corinne
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AllieC
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,063 
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Post by AllieC on May 23, 2018 7:53:49 GMT
corinne11 I thought of Orange Sky as soon as I read the OP and you beat me to it. It is such a wonderful and practical initiative.
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hannahruth
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,642
Location: Adelaide, Australia
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Post by hannahruth on May 23, 2018 8:32:32 GMT
Have always thought these guys thought of a wonderful way to assist the homeless and they are young people so to me it is even more sweeter!
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Post by KelleeM on May 23, 2018 8:49:46 GMT
There’s a Facebook show called Returning The Favor, hosted by Mike Rowe (he did Dirty Jobs and voices other shows). They highlighted the story of a young woman who provided free laundry services at a laundry mat once a week but her dream was to have a mobile service modeled after Orange Sky. One of the Orange Sky foundrpers came to the US (I think it was Texas) to assist in making the van that the show presented to her. It was an awesome story (as are all of the stories on the show) and such a wonderful thing for someone to do for others!
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eastcoastpea
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,252
Jun 27, 2014 13:05:28 GMT
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Post by eastcoastpea on May 23, 2018 15:35:39 GMT
What a great idea.
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Post by ntsf on May 23, 2018 15:38:32 GMT
there is a woman in san francisco who started several years ago refitting out of date buses as laundry mats and as mobile shower houses..
there is a lot that can be done.
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basketdiva
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,629
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Post by basketdiva on May 23, 2018 15:58:47 GMT
Our area has a daytime shelter where homeless people can shower, use the computers and desks to apply for jobs and also has washers and dryers. In addition there is a children's playroom and kitchen.
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wellway
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,877
Jun 25, 2014 20:50:09 GMT
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Post by wellway on May 23, 2018 16:17:26 GMT
Loving the good stories you've all shared.
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ginacivey
Pearl Clutcher
refupea #2 in southeast missouri
Posts: 4,685
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Post by ginacivey on May 23, 2018 16:42:29 GMT
i wish every city/town had something like this
and i love the 'day shelter'
gina
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Post by papersilly on May 23, 2018 17:06:09 GMT
on our local news this morning, they were featuring a laundromat that was offering free laundry day for the homeless today. they also had an underwear and sock exchange program.
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Post by bc2ca on May 23, 2018 17:12:33 GMT
What a wonderful story - thanks for sharing.  I do know there are a number of day shelters in San Diego that offer shower & laundry services, but I'm not aware of a mobile service here (I know the San Francisco area has Dignity of Wheels). |
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mlana
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,523
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Post by mlana on May 23, 2018 17:24:38 GMT
This is such a compassionate idea! I love it!
I wonder if the Tide and State Farm emergency trucks that provide laundry and shower services after major disasters could be utilized for this? I would really think well of them if they chose to offer this use of their vehicles when they weren't being used for disaster relief.
Marcy
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Post by birukitty on May 23, 2018 17:31:07 GMT
there is a woman in san francisco who started several years ago refitting out of date buses as laundry mats and as mobile shower houses.. there is a lot that can be done. This is such a wonderful idea. Being clean, having clean hair and being able to put on clean clothes every day is something most of us take for granted. It takes away our dignity being dirty and not being able to do anything about it, on top of all of the other struggles homeless people face. Thanks so much for sharing this story today Wellway. It's wonderful hearing great stories of caring, compassionate people compared to what we usually read in the news. |
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