A van service providing free mobile laundry and showers for rough sleepers has been launched in Auckland.
The van has a name - Hugo - and two washing machines, two driers and a shower.
It's a first for Australian charity Orange Sky in New Zealand, which launched across the Tasman four years ago.
Co-founder Lucas Patchett says it was a successful launch on Thursday morning in Onehunga.
"It was an amazing morning," Patchett told Newshub. "We had four washers and three showers come through.
"Mike, the first guy to ever use an Orange Sky van in New Zealand was absolutely stoked to have a shower... Mike hadn't had any of that stuff for a little while so it was really cool."
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They were approached to start their services here by the Hugo Charitable Trust and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development - hence the name of the van.
It's a simple formula that focuses on more than just hygiene and clean clothing. Orange Sky feel the connection they provide is just as valuable - as a platform for everyday people to connect.
"What we stumbled on was a world first, something incredibly simple like washing someone's clothes led to amazing conversations - which opened our eyes to something much, much bigger," Patchett said.
Patchett started Orange Sky with a friend, Nic Marchesi, in 2014 when both were 20 years old.
They wanted to help the homeless they saw every day in Brisbane, so they installed a couple of washing machines and dryers in the back of their old van, then visited parks and drop-in centres to wash and dry clothes for free.
While the idea began as simply a charitable notion to improve hygiene standards and restore dignity to people who were doing it tough, it's evolved into something much bigger and more powerful.
The pair now have 27 services across Australia. They've provided 5000 safe hot showers and have washed more than 700,000kg of free laundry.
Now they're doing it in Auckland, with the help of local volunteers - and they're looking for more to help them out.
"We need at least 100 volunteers to run all those shifts so we're really calling out on the Auckland community to support that volunteering."
People interested can get in touch on orangesky.org.nz.
Newshub.
