Laundry pod to launch locally

BALLARAT has services in place to deliver meals and showers to people doing it tough, but a new initiative is set to fill the gap in providing clean clothes.

Following their introduction into regional Victoria with a permanent service in Bendigo at the start of the month, free laundry and shower provider Orange Sky are making their way to Ballarat.

Established in Brisbane a decade ago, the organisation is set to open a fixed laundry pod, featuring two washing machines and two dryers, to the community on Monday 12 August.

Growth coordinator Megan Collins said there’s been a pressing need for more homelessness support following census data released in 2021 as well as nationwide financial burdens.

“Australia is very much in a cost-of-living crisis as well as a rental crisis,” she said.

“Having a look at the most recent census compared to the previous in 2016, there’s a 39 per cent increase in homelessness in the greater Ballarat region.

“Clean laundry’s something a lot of us take for granted but it really is for something, particularly for young families, it can be a decision between clean clothes and putting food on the table.

“Laundry pods are different from our mobile vans in that they don’t move, but what we find is they’re a much more accessible way for us to enter smaller communities faster given the cost and time it takes to deliver a van.”

The laundry pod will be installed at the Salvation Army church at 102 Eureka Street, and will be open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10.30am to 1.30pm.

The service will be operated by three to four volunteers per shift with up to 30 volunteers needed for the local initiative.

Ms Collins encouraged everyone to check the laundry pod out during Orange Sky’s open day on Saturday 27 July from 10am.

“My colleague Emma will be onsite to facilitate any questions, give demonstrations in running the pod, and there’ll be food and refreshments,” she said.

“We’re definitely in need of more volunteers as well so anyone who can jump in and help out will be great.”