There’s one Christmas that Ipswich couple Michael and Bev Byrnes will never forget.

The two, who had not long ago set up the homeless charity’s operations in the city, along with another volunteer, were out doing their Christmas Day outreach with three patrons who didn’t have anywhere else to go.

“One bloke lived in a boarding house and was all by himself, another bloke had had a family split and the other man was a guy in his 70s with a flash car who’d lost his wife and his daughter said Christmas was an ’inconvenient time’ to spend with him,“ Mr Byrnes said.

“The six of us sat there for hours, eating a Lions fruit cake and none of us were in a rush to leave. That’s stuck in my mind. There were only three people but they were three people who needed someone, needed us, at the time. When people needed us we were there for them.“

Mr Byrnes and his wife, who had previously volunteered for Rosies in Brisbane for 10 years after finding the charity during schoolies volunteer work, both started up the Ipswich operations in 2012 when a couple donated the $50k needed to start.

He said at first it was a struggle because they didn’t have enough donations, but as people began to see their presence donations started coming in.

Soon they began working with other organisations and churches in the city like Red Cross, Rotary, St Paul’s church and the Saigon Bakery who donate leftover food every night.

Schools St Edmund’s College, St Mary’s College, St Augustine’s College, Springfield Anglican College and Bremer State High School, are also involved in helping the charity locally.

“I think Ipswich is noted for its generosity,“ Mrs Byrnes said.

“When Covid happened we thought we might not get any donations for a while but when times are tough people seem to show their generosity more and we never run out of anything here now.“

She said Rosies’ definition of homelessness wasn’t just for people who didn’t have a roof over their heads – it was for all people who were disconnected from society.

She said outreaches were a way back for patrons to know they were not alone and gain some dignity and friendship.

Mr Byrnes agreed and said Rosies’ wouldn’t be able to do what they did without the support from the local community, especially during Christmas.

Mrs Byrnes said sometimes patrons were lucky enough to be visited by gardening icon Costa Georgiadis, who stumbled into an outreach one day while visiting Queens Park.

“To have him was really good and he’s been a few times,“ she said