Inspired Magazine

“Fired up about
making a difference,
they bounded into the van,
drove to a local park and
pulled up ready to change
the world.”
FALSE START
Now, to install a
washer and dryer
into the back of Nic’s
old van. They were
advised it “should”
fit, but it was going
to be close. The duo
spent their weekends
doing trips to the local
hardware store, cutting
wood and painting to build
a platform that would hold the
laundry equipment, all the while
desperately hoping it would work
out. And it fitted. Just.
Next, getting power to the equipment.
They approached Kennards Hire and were again
gobsmacked by the support when Kennards
donated a free generator.
Fired up about making a difference, they
bounded into the van, drove to a local park and
pulled up ready to change the world. “When we
rocked up it was a bit late and most people had
dispersed but there were these two guys there,”
Lucas says. “Nic went and said g’day while I fired
up the machines. But the guys just said nah and it
was all a bit strange and they didn’t want to do it.
And in the meantime I’d managed to fry both the
circuit boards in the machines.”
HELPING THE HOMELESS
But they’d come this far, they had to give it
another shot. With the power supply now worked
out and the machines repaired they again set out,
earlier this time, to the park they’d visited with the
school food van. Again they approached some of
the homeless. Again they were met with confusion.
What? You want to wash our clothes? Why, the
homeless people asked. But one fellow took them
up on their offer.
They got to chatting with him. Again Nic and
Lucas were astounded at how easily life can
change. “He’d been to a private school in Brisbane,
he’d studied a similar subject to me at university
and then there were a few life turns that didn’t
go his way and he found himself living in a park,”
Lucas says.
“I just thought that could be me in 10 years’
time. Sometimes it can only take two or three
little things to go wrong – a medical bill, or a car
to break down or losing one or two pay cheques –
and you could find yourself homeless. Every night
in Australia there are 105,000 people sleeping on
the streets.”
CONVERSATION HELPS
The first couple of washes made them realise
this service wasn’t just about washing clothes. It
was more about spending time with people – an
antidote to the averted eyes that the homeless
usually experience.
“We thought we might really be onto something
– it was a really unique opportunity to have this
conversation space,” Lucas says. “I’d say it’s 90
percent about the talking and 10 percent about
the washing. Some of the volunteers say they feel
lazy just sitting around talking but we think it’s
the most important part – that’s where the impact
happens.”
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LUCAS PATCHETT AND NIC MARCHESI