Orange Sky Laundry

During our existence, The Print Bar has been lucky enough to work with an abundance of amazing artists and organisations. We have learnt that there’s a story behind every print we create, whether it be a joke between friends or the narrative of a new business venture. We recently partnered with Orange Sky Laundry and delved into the story of young Australians of the year, Lucas Patchett and Nicholas Marchesi.

These childhood mates started a world first in 2014 by creating a free mobile laundry for the homeless and a platform of conversation and confidence for those whose voices are often ignored. Orange Sky is still growing, and their vision of “a world where the homeless are positively connected with the community” seems more feasible as the vans continue to circle the streets. We spoke to Lucas about the future of Orange Sky.

Firstly, how does it feel to be the first ever joint-winners of the Young Australian of the Year award?

It’s definitely not something that we predicted. We were blown away to even be a part of the 31 finalists in Canberra earlier this year and to then be awarded was incredible. From day 1 we have been blown away by the number of people supporting us, believing in us and helping us and that number continues to grow every day.

How did the idea for Orange Sky first come about?

Well, it really stemmed from Nic and I volunteering in a school van. Working in the van really opened our eyes to the massive problem of homelessness. Over 105,000 people are homeless in Australia every night; it’s one of the harsh realities of humanity and a sad truth that many of us try to ignore. When we finished school we had more time on our hands and wanted to harness some energy from us and all our mates to give back to the community. We initially thought about running a food van but then stumbled upon the idea of something new…something that hadn’t been done before. The ability to wear clean clothes everyday is a luxury we often take for granted and we thought that everyone deserves the right to clean clothes. We wanted to improve not only the hygiene standards, but also the confidence of the homeless, so we came up with this crazy idea of building a free mobile laundry.

Were there many setbacks in the initial stages of implementing the idea behind Orange Sky?

Definitely! Mainly people not believing in us and our idea. We approached various possible sponsors and after being turned down so many times, we decided to just go ahead and do it. Eventually a company believed in us and gave us some washing machines. It all went from there really…starting in the back of our old, fitted out van. I remember lots of trips to Bunnings and lots of power tool tutorials.

I understand the name Orange Sky comes from an Alexi Murdoch song. What was it about this song that resonated with you?

Well it’s definitely a cool song. The entire message of the song is about helping your brothers and sisters. These values are imperative to us and central to the whole project. It aligns with the simple idea of treating people how you wish to be treated, and that is something important to us both.

Many people forget that the homeless had a life before the streets and are just like you and me. Can you tell me a bit about the stories you have heard?

You hear a lot of different stories while running the vans. There are so many stories and people that have resonated with me, but one that will always stay is the first guy we washed clothes for, Jordon. He was hesitant at first and we had to show that we weren’t selling or preaching anything. I remember hitting go on the machine a realizing there was a lot of time to fill while waiting for the load to finish. So we just started chatting and I discovered that Jordon went to school up the road from myself and used to study engineering, exactly like me. He made a few poor decisions in his life and ended up on the street. It was really eye opening, it made me realise that we are all made of the same stuff and our life could change at any minute. We all have a story to tell.

What’s next for Orange Sky?

We plan to roll out our services all over major Australian cities by the end of July. After that, we plan to look into rural communities and possibly global from there. No one else is doing this in the world that we know of so we are in an exciting but very daunting position. We want to continue to help countless people everyday.

How can the general public lend a hand?

There are 3 main ways people can help out. Firstly, being aware about the extent of the problem. 1 in 200 people don’t have a place to call home every single night. It is a huge issue that needs addressing and simply spreading the message of Orange Sky or striking up a conversation about homelessness is a massive help. Secondly, we are always in need of more volunteers. We currently have 450 volunteers throughout Australia, however we are constantly growing and in need or more help. Finally, people can help out financially. It costs $6 to wash and dry a load of clothes and donations directly help the operation of our services. It would be like buying a batch of clean clothes for someone in need.

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Has working with the homeless made you appreciate what you have a little more?

Absolutely! The best thing about Orange Sky is the people you meet and the stories you hear. It is the most humbling and eye-opening thing I have ever done. It is an absolute privilege to help out our friends on the street. Sometimes the simplest ideas can have the biggest impact.

www.orangeskylaundry.com.au

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