People with Purpose: Offering help wear it's needed most

Tell us a little bit about your career background. 

I’ve owned my own business since the age of 18.

I worked as a social worker in the disability sector and as a senior social educator in intellectual disability.

I ran my husband’s business after he passed away.

How did Clothesline come about?

Two men named Steve and Ralf, who volunteered running a food van in 2007, saw the need for clothing for the homeless and started ClothesLine two years later.

Steve and Ralf worked tirelessly to bring clothing and essential items to the homeless they saw on the streets of Sydney.

Steve, particularly, took a great interest in the everyday management of ClothesLine while running his own consultancy business. ClothesLine is a not-for-profit run totally by volunteers.

I joined as a volunteer in 2014, along with my daughter who has an intellectual disability. We looked forward to every Wednesday night as Steve drove into the city and we would set up in Yurong Parkway [in Woolloomooloo] near the evening food van near the homeless.

What is the main issue that ClothesLine is trying to solve? 

For many years, as Steve and Ralf served meals to the homeless.

They noticed that many were cold in winter or just had no way of buying decent clothing. This affects people's comfort, health, healing, recovery, confidence and self-esteem.

Today, society faces many more challenges with domestic violence, mental health, drug and alcohol addiction, loss of employment, and the housing crisis.

People are constantly battling to just make ends meet.

Every day we get more referrals from social workers, Aboriginal community workers, correctional services, the Department of Housing, refugee and asylum services, students or even just a caring person to assist with clothing and essentials for the person on the street around the corner from where they live.

The need has intensified, but it's a balancing act all the time. We get just as many calls for direct assistance as we do for our street work.

How much success have you had in helping homeless and disadvantaged Australians? 

You would need to ask the services that keep coming back with more requests for assistance.

Every one of the above services have appreciated the help we have been able to offer to each one of the people they bring to us for assistance and their families.

The most important aspect of what we do, however, especially on the streets, is the human touch and care we give to the people we love to serve.

We are their family, and they are ours. To many we are their first point of call. Many have been on the streets for years. They suffer rejection, isolation, humiliation, sickness and despair.

We are not there to dress them like puppets and enjoy a feel-good moment before we pack up and leave. We stand with them in non-judgemental love and appreciation of the time we share together.

It’s a time of communicating the most fundamental of basic needs. It's a personal time of communicating and sharing. We are not here for popularity ratings or nods of approval. We are here because we care.

What kind of a difference does ClothesLine Inc make to the struggling Austalians who rely on the service? 

The kind of difference that is life changing.

Not just in personal hygiene, in fashion, in clothing, in building self-esteem, in job prospects or in self-respect.

It's in knowing that there are services out there that will stand with them with empathy, concern, understanding and love.