TODAY
d’Arcy Witherspoon - March 29, 2021
2020 what a year it was for all, but what a year it was for Down to Earth. Even though I (d’Arcy) have been doing the same sort of things since I was 14 I didn’t realise how much I would actually learn until it was all on me to bring the help that is needed across South-East Queensland. So during the very start of the year that is how I came up with my funding model with the 10c cans across the community and from that moment really I knew that only growth and good things were to appear if I just keep doing what I keep doing. So I just kept going around the Brisbane city and Ipswich hunting for the homeless and helping them and shared a meal with them. At the very start of the year things were pretty steady I had my regulars I saw a fair few times a week.
Then bang COVID hit and that is really where I started to really find my feet and really connected with the community, especially the Ipswich community. So all the rules and restrictions came out and I noticed that all the charities in the area just fell off the face of the earth, but look they really didn’t have a choice they were just doing what they were told. I however just couldn’t hang up the shoes by this time I was off work for 3 months because I broke my ankle so I couldn’t just put that on hold because for me it was the only thing I really had going for me. But not just that I found that since so many charities across the area had to bail, help was still needed the needy and homeless can’t just suddenly feed themselves so that is where I started to take over previous services. It was my time to shine the community can finally get a taste of what I have to offer so I was really stoked for this negative thing to turn into a positive thing for me. So I started to feed amounts of people I have never done before where sometimes I would get 20 plus at once and I would do this 3 times a week. Since it was so busy I started to get volunteers and my efforts started to pay off when I would get help from the community because of what they have heard from other members of the community. So although COVID was a fall for many it was actually a step up for me and really gave my opportunity to show what I can bring to the communities table.
I started to think smarter; have more efficient meals, use recycled resources and groceries instead of paying a fortune for the exact same thing. I started to prep meals up at home and then just go out of a night time across Ipswich and Brisbane and hand out precooked meals ready to go. That way it was COVID safe and I could feed many more people in one night. I started to see how much my volunteers cared about Down to Earth and the community and how much they wanted to make a difference; they have really pushed me, helped me, had patience in me and believed in me and Down to Earth. So being able to establish a location, a time, a team and most importantly a community to do the same thing 2 or 3 nights a week consistently is a lot harder than it sounds, but I am so proud that we have got there.
The Down to Earth team is all over it we do such a great job at Queens Park and I bet we can all say it is our highlight of our week going there 2 or 3 times a week. Coming from me (d’Arcy) the best thing for me is just seeing how much it has grown. Even from when I first started it last year to what it is now. Since my team is there they are all over the healthy food; Donna and Marty are just superstars they are really the backbone of Down to Earth. People can’t wait to see the Down to Earth crew because we just have it all; we have your essentials, we have your food, we have your clothes but best of all we have your back we want to see everyone happy. We have created such an inclusive community that is so happy to be around each other and everyone there means that they are part of something bigger then themselves; every single person at the park means something to someone else.
Apart from the park today I still go to Brisbane and Gold Coast once a week and hand out food or cook up food and share a meal with those in need. I am actually finding it pretty bad now as the extra COVID payments and the free hostels the government were providing have stopped. So there are more and more homeless on the streets I am finding. Funds wise we are doing really well however I really want to step it up where I want to be able to be able to assist multiple cities on the same night. I have a few vans now and have some pretty cool things I am planning on doing to them.
