By ADAM ANDREWS

Orange Sky Laundry  is soon to provide new mobile shower vans to Melbourne's homeless.

Nicholas Marchesi and Lucas Patchett, founders of Orange Sky, trialled the new shower van in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, in late August.

The van will be driven to Melbourne where it will become an extension to the group's  existing laundry service, which provides free clothes washing for homeless people in the city and southeastern suburbs. 

With summer approaching, the shower van will be well received by homeless people, Orange Sky Laundry's southeast Melbourne service manager Robert Billing said.

Since its creation in 2014, Orange Sky Laundry has spread to 71 locations in Australia, with 10 vans now in operation and more than 700 volunteers.

Funding from Shine On Foundation and Queensland Urban Utilities has allowed Orange Sky to release the new mobile showers.

Mr Billing said one of the main mission statements of Orange Sky's service was to restore respect and dignity themeless people.

This involves not only involves cleaning clothes, but also conversations and friendships  with the volunteers, he said.

"Our friends come to us in their time of despair and have often experienced a disconnection and distrust from society," he said.

A challenge that Orange Sky Laundry addresses is the deconstruction around the term "homeless" and the stigma it carries.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in 2014, 2.5 million people said they had experienced homelessness in their lives.

Of those who had, 68 per cent  stayed with a relative, 52 per cent with a friend, 13 per cent slept rough or in an abandoned building, and 7.7 per cent had stayed in a shelter or refuge.

Council to Homeless Persons consumer programs manager Ian Gough said charities had to  focus on reaching all disadvantaged sectors of the population.

 Many people did not recognise themselves as homeless, he said, since people often linked that term only to sleeping rough. As a result, many people did not access the appropriate services available to them and could find more support.

If you would like to donate or become a volunteer for Orange Sky Laundry, visit http://www.orangeskylaundry.com.au/.