A one-man VW Beetle-driven blanket distribution service is wrapping up Melbourne’s homeless people.
Inspired by the Croatian Motorcycle Club’s blanket run, Kings Park web designer Dom Dedic says the penny dropped one chilly night a few months ago.
“I was outside and thought, geez it’s cold, so I set up a facebook page. It started getting heaps of hits, people offering blankets; it happened organically.”
Dom, also a weekend musician and member of the Seven Pistons car club at Melton, has one aim: to help as many homeless people as possible by cramming as many blankets into his 1960 Beetle, nicknamed Gordon, as can fit.
His first run was relatively small, delivering about 30 blankets.
He said cold weather prompted him to hit the road earlier than planned, warming those without shelter outside Flinders Street train station, along Swanston Street and city lanes.
One homeless man was wearing only shorts and a singlet in five-degree weather, so Dom gave him a doona.
“The only thing he said was, ‘cool car!’ Driving away having seen a homeless man in a pristine white doona on a dirty street was a surreal image and something that will stay in my mind for a very long time,” he says.
“The response is one of gratitude. There’s lots of mental illness on the streets; it can be hard for them to communicate. It was a real eye-opener for me. Melbourne is in the grip of a homeless crisis, and this is my little way of contributing and, hopefully, lightening the load.”
Dom is collecting blankets from several Melbourne car clubs, including Williamstown, Essendon, Melton and Cranbourne.
To support Dom, call 0431 167 294.
