The Good Guys and the state government are responsible for the $100,000 funding of the Orange Sky Laundry service, which aims to improve the hygiene standards of the homeless community. The service was rolled out in Brisbane last year, but will be hitting the streets of Victoria and New South Wales this week.
Childhood friends Lucas Patchett and Nicholas Marchesi (pictured) came up with the idea of a free mobile laundry service in 2014. They fitted out an old van with a generator, water tanks and two large washing machines and dryers, which they took to the streets of Brisbane.
“We wanted to improve the hygiene standards of the homeless so we came up with the idea of building a free mobile laundry,” Marchesi told media.
“The reaction from the homeless community has been overwhelming. People are surprised, they are really blown away,” he added.
The vans cost about $70,000 to fit out and another $10,000 per year to run, with the laundry being done by volunteers who work alongside other homelessness services such as food vans.