Photo: Supplied.
When Amy and Jai moved from a small country town on the border of New South Wales and Victoria to Queensland they were shocked at the amount of people who were homeless.
“In the town where I grew up there was one homeless person and we all knew him well enough to know his name and say hello,” explained Amy.
“It’s a sharp contrast to what we see in South East Queensland, where the rental crisis the lack of affordable accommodation has seen an increase in the amount of people sleeping rough or in cars.
“The first homeless person we saw when we moved I had Jai go over with a sandwich and introduce himself. I was homeless for a little while, living in temporary accommodation at a caravan park, when Jai was very young, he doesn’t remember it but I know that acknowledgement and kindness can make a big difference.”
As the child of a single parent Jai has seen first-hand what it’s like to struggle and he wanted to help those who were doing it tough.
“Jai is a very sweet, kind hearted boy and had been asking about the different ways that we might be able to able those who were homeless,” Amy said.
Amy and Jai first approached Rosies with the idea of making sandwiches for those who came to outreach.
“I spoke to someone in the office and she suggested the best way to help was by holding a noodle drive. When Jai got home from school that day I’d purchased a few pot noodles and explained to him what we were going to do,” said Amy.
Amy and Jai started collecting noodles in late March, and five days later they had collected over 160 pot noodles from friends and neighbours! They are aiming to collect 500 pot noodles by the end of the month.
Rosies is so grateful for the generosity of community members like Amy and Jai. It’s because of individuals like them that Rosies can keep its vans fully stocked and in the communities where they are needed most.
