Let's help someone

I’ve been wanting to write this post for a while now but to tell you the truth it brought anger, a tear of relief and yes I even felt inspired in a way I can’t explain it.

Signal Flare which is the charity I helped to put together with awesome help from smart people has jumped through all the hoops and is now able to give Tax Deductable receipts. We also got all the papers done so we can collect as a charity in public with charity tins. AWESOME. A long time coming but worth it. Thank you Tom and Bernie the Polite Girl for helping me to get this far, I couldn’t have done this without you.

So if you have too much money and want to put it towards an awesome cause that helps people, please email me on grantthepoliteguy@gmail.com About two weeks ago I was collecting with the charity tins at Anzac Park talking to people when I found myself just standing there looking at the back end of the stairs there. You see as the stairs rise it leave a clearing under it which is cover by bushes. All of a sudden floods of memories came as I thought about the time I started hiding of a night-time because of a bad beating I had gotten after sleeping on a bench in the ever same park. You see if you crawl under the stairs there’s heaps of room and because of the bushes no-one can see you and it’s a lot safer.

I used to lay there thinking of all the good things in life and maintaining the thought that I would get on my feet and ( I know how dumb this sounds but true) think about being a “man” again.

I have done so much getting on my feet and helping so many people along the way, that I must say I’m proud of myself and I am a MAN.

I could talk all night about how great I am but really what makes me so proud is talking about all the people that I’ve help get on their feet. I have seen people cry about how their living and just wanting that break or hand up in life. I have seen these people fight their own demons to want to get on their feet. There’s not a switch that they turn on and they start working a full time job and settle down with a wife and kids. It takes hard work and working out within themselves to go as fast as they feel they can.

I have seen some get on their feet fast, fail and get back up and yes seen some fail and quit trying, but really in life we can only ever ask that someone gives their best in life and support them when they are.

I really feel that yes people make mistakes in life but when we give up on them then why should they keep the faith in themselves. I say if someone’s willing to try then the least I can do is say “I will stand by you as long as you don’t quit”. Really sometimes all a person needs is a friend or friendly support.

If you see someone that is trying in life, is it really going to be hard to say “You can do it mate I believe in you”

I’d like to thank you all for reading my blog and I hope you all have a great day.

Grant the Polite Guy

grantthepoliteguy@gmail.com

0412 190 011

Quick SOS

Good Morning, I have a huge SOS for a family with 4 kids (Ages 4 months, 6, 8 and 15). I have helped this family in the past and they are good people.
They hit Christmas and then quickly after cost of school uniform, books, school fees and to make things much worst there car broke down. It just stacked up.
This family held on and held on until they had no hope left and contacted me. They have been given papers which I have seen saying they need to pay $1185.32 today by the end of closing business or they will be evicted and are going to be homeless. I help homeless people all the time and right now I have a chance to help before they hit a very hard rock bottom.
I will not be handing over money to them I will get a money order to go direct to Real Estate. All the people I have friends here know I'm always helping people so please let's help this family.
Grant Richards
Grant the Polite Guy
0412 190 011

All Heart

I know I've talked about heart before and I'm so proud to mention it again.

It is true  in November I hit a hard time and needed to get away from things for a short while. I ended up in Sydney staying in a homeless lodge and trying to find myself again I guess. I really was doing too much with everything.

When I came back to Brisbane I'd plan to open the new coffee store in the Valley late January, which is still going ahead. But I wasn't working and had no income so I went back to the one thing I knew, the Big Issue. This was nothing like what I wanted to do because I'd worked so hard to get on my feet and move on from doing the Big Issue. The way I see it the Big Issue is awesome for helping people to get on their feet and in my mind going back to doing it meant to me I was going backwards after everything I'd done.

Now for my proud moment. I have help so many people from homeless to people in need that within the first hour of me putting on a Big Issue I had 5 homeless which sleeps on the streets come to me being concerned and offering me money to help. Now don't get me wrong I didn't take one coin from them except for one guy "Bruce" who had come and very much insisted about 3-4 times. It got to the point that he was offended that he couldn't help me when I needed help and hitting hard times.

I have to tell you that I've made it clear to him that I have gotten on my feet since and even done the "Pie and Coke" for him just because I felt bad that he had nothing in life and he wanted to repay me in some way for me helping him. I want to make this clear, it made me  feel bad and very very proud at the same time that I had earnt the respect of just some of the people I've helped.

This year is going to be huge and I will help that many more people, not because I feel good about getting respect from people but because the need is out there it's people like you, me, our mums, dads and good people that just need a helping hand when times are down.

I'll ask people that read my blog to think about one thing. If you walk past a person that's homeless or looks like there doing things tough, would it hurt to smile, say "Hi" and buy them something to eat? I can say that the person you do it for will be having a lot better day because of it and it will bring a smile to your face for doing something awesome.

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

Grant Richards
Grant the Polite Guy
grantthepoliteguy@gmail.com
0412 190 011

New Year Start

The start of a New Year. I hope everyone had a great holidays and was safe.

I’m excited about the next 12 months coming because I have so many new plans coming into place. In a few weeks a new and exciting shop will open, trust me this one shop is going to help more people in one year then I have helped in the last 4 ½ years since I was homeless. But I’ll say more about this new idea of a shop when I launch it in a few weeks. You’ll be impressed. Haha

“Having a Go Coffee” which I setup as a business that operates as a coffee shop, but only employs people that we have helped who are homeless or people in need and also sell Suspended Coffee which means people can buy an additional coffee for the next homeless or person in need that walks into the shop. Some exciting news to add is that “Having a Go Coffee” will also be doing home delivery for coffee as well. It’ll be great.

In the next 12 months I’m putting 5 shops into place

Valley

Ipswich

Cleveland

Caboolture

Gold Coast

Remember all locations will be a collection place for people to donate clothes and things for the Homeless BQQ’s that we do which homeless and people in need get clothes, toiletries, blankets, kids toys and things free.

On a new topic, I don’t know if anyone will want to read it but I’m starting to write a book about from having everything in life and then an accident which turned to homelessness to Homeless BBQ’s for others to everything I do now. It’ll be awesome. Haha I think I’m doing it mostly for myself because in a way I get a great feeling about what I have done and all the obstacles I’ve overcome. But the most important is I get to write about the awesome friendships I’ve made along the way.

I may never finish it of course but I’d like to think one day it’ll be done.

We are planning our next BBQ for February in Ipswich. I’ll be giving more details as I know more.

I’d like to thank you all for reading my blog and I hope you all have a great day.

Grant Richards

Grant the Polite Guy

0412 190 011

grantthepoliteguy@gmail.com  

Time-out

I am trying very hard to not put the wrong message across. It is true, I have hit some hard times, personal and business, which has given me some setback. I have found myself depressed and feel I need to get away for a couple of weeks to be on my own and take time out for myself.

I do want to make this very clear to everyone and especially the people I have helped that read my blog, I am not giving up, I am not quitting, I just feel burnt out and I am taking a short break. I am going to Sydney to get away from things, and I will have my phone off as I feel that I need to just find myself again.

I have given and done so much to help people, and I know people will want to call or text, and I am asking them now not to. I need time for me.

I hate putting it like this, but I feel I am wanting and needing this time for myself.

I will be back brighter, even bigger smile, and I hope you all have a good day. I am not going to lie, if you have an emergency please do call as I will always be there to help.

Please note the Coorparoo "Having a Go Coffee" shop will be open, please come and get a coffee.

Grant Richards

Grant the Polite Guy

0412 190 011

grantthepoliteguy@gmail.com

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