A team of people with an essential job to do have hit the streets of Ballarat - you'll have seen them cleaning street furniture while clad in hi-vis in the past week.
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Walking up and down Sturt Street and around Lake Wendouree for hours each day, as winter approaches, is a tough sell for many people, but Sudantha Sanjaya Ranaweera Arachchige jumped at the chance to take a job on the frontlines protecting his community.
He's been a cleaner at a retail site in Ballarat for the past three years, but was stood down when the coronavirus struck - he's now part of the Working for Victoria program, disinfecting external surfaces like benches, handrails, traffic light buttons, and bike stands.
Basically, everything that people might touch in public, which is perhaps more than you'd think.
According to the state government, 26 people have found work in the program in Ballarat.
The workers are split across four zones - Sturt Street, the Bridge Mall, and two halves of Lake Wendouree.
It's a tough job in the cold, but the workers said there's a sense of pride about the work.
Mr Arachchige said he and his wife, a hairdresser, found themselves unable to work or receive JobKeeper or JobSeeker payments.
"We came to Australia from Sri Lanka in 2016 and have built a life for ourselves here in Ballarat. We now have a 13 month old baby at home - the opportunity to be involved in this project came at a good time," he said in a statement.
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"What we are doing as part of this cleaning blitz is important. As restrictions start to be eased and more people are on the streets it is nice to know that our efforts are making a difference.
"It really makes us feel good when people come up to us in the streets to say 'thank you' - those two words help take the chill off the cold mornings."
About 1500 people have been deployed across regional and metropolitan Victoria so far, with workers in Ballarat employed for at least 28 days.
For more information on Working for Victoria, and to register, go to vic.gov.au/workingforvictoria.
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