A quick post

I was walking through the city this morning and it felt so good, I must say I felt like I was home because of when I was homeless, but I must also say it felt great to remember the past because in some way I felt very proud in myself for getting on my feet and doing what I do.

A guy stopped me walking past BOQ Building and said how he heard about me on the radio and started reading my blog and wanted to say “Hi”. As good as it felt I was also guilty because I started thinking how I don’t write on here as much as what I did as a homeless person.

You see I started thinking of all the things that I can do to help that many more as I know what homeless are going through. I even started thinking that even though my new business “Having a Go Coffee” at Coorparoo is helping people, it’s not enough. So I’m proud to say I’m also working on many new projects at the same time. I won’t say what yet because I’m still working them out. But I will say, each one of my projects will help people on their feet in some way or I wouldn’t put it together.

I have in the past posted on Facebook that the shop in Coorparoo is in fear of closing because it didn’t get enough customers. Well whatever I did was the trick because people came from everywhere and the sales doubled overnight. Thank you for that, it means I can now employ more people after helping them on their feet. There’s a famous saying and that’s “the money has to go into the cash register before money can go out”. Also on a great note the Suspended Coffee’s is in the plus of 28 for the first time which means we can help that many more people. AWESOME.

I have to say I feel like I’m doing something really great knowing I’m helping so many people. Really please everyone that reads this post go out and do just one thing to help someone and see how you feel making a small or big difference to someone you don’t know. I hope you’ll feel like I do and that’s your walking on air and being proud.

I was just thinking of writing a list of all the great things I’ve done to help people in the last 2 weeks, but to be honest just once in a while I want to keep things for just me to know. I will say I’ve helped two people by paying for plane tickets to return home to their families, clothes for people that needed them, furnisher and much more. I would never ask anyone to do something I wouldn’t do.

I hope you all have a great day and thank you for reading my blog.

Grant Richards

Grant the Polite Guy

grantthepoliteguy@gmail.com

0412190011

2 Down 48 to go

First of all I was successful with a family, house and a great job when I had an accident on a stairwell and ended up in hospital for 9 months with multiple injuries and leaving with a back brace.

Losing everything I was homeless for 1 ½ years of which the last 6 months of that I started making a huge difference in people’s lives. You see as a Big Issue vendor (which I became vendor of the year) I had a lot of customers or people that would say “Hi” all the time. One day I started asking everyone I knew if they would like to donate clothes they didn’t want anymore to me to give to a Homeless Centre to give to homeless for free.  I got two very full station wagons full of clothes to donate.

Two months later I did the same thing except this time I asked for food for a BBQ as well, you see I started telling all the homeless and people I knew to come to a park and collect free BBQ food, clothes, blankets, toiletries and much more. 400 turned up which excited me and I continue to do these BBQ’s which became bigger, between 400-1,000 people getting help every two months going to Musgrave Park, Caboolture, Ipswich and Wynnum. But the best thing was the very first two BBQ’s I done while homeless myself.

I would like to add that these BBQ’s are not to just give free food and things, we have 100’s of volunteers there trying to talk to these people in a means of helping them on their feet. I know 100’s of homeless and people in need have turned up and left to go straight into accommodations and employment. There’s no better feeling.

I have and always will be proud with what I do with my BBQ’s but I have taken it one step further with a new project called “Having a Go Coffee” which I use my contacts to help homeless or people in need on their feet and then give them training and employment working. This will give them a head start in hospitality and makes them part of society and participating in a world at which they only used to look from the outside. I can already see the difference in the first people I employed. The fact that someone believes in them has given them confidence and I can see their hope for the future. I’m putting together 50 locations throughout Brisbane and the Gold Coast. The way I look at it, If I help and employ 8-10 people per location then it’ll help 400-500 homeless and people in need to have that first or second chance at life.

I have 2 locations and already working on my 3^rd and 4^th as I write this now. My plan is to get the 50 locations by July next year. I know it’s a big task but I know I say a famous saying to people I’m trying to help, “There’s only two things we can’t do and that’s walk on water, but I heard someone did and we can’t find the second thing”

If you would like to donate towards this great project please do as I need all the help I can get.

Grant Richards

BOQ Bank

BSB 124-001

ACC 21730452

Thank you

Grant Richards

Grant the Polite Guy

0412190011

grantthepoliteguy@gmail.com