Families in desperate need: A night at the Shower Bus

It was driven by former teacher Russell Carroll, with the night's volunteer team, Danni Trezise and Fraser Wood.

Russ carefully and efficiently parks the bus at 132 Doveton Street, under a careful eye from Danni.

The team diligently remove new donations from Danni's four-wheel drive, packed to the brim with donations from a group at a local aged care facility.

Mostly done unpacking donations, Russ plugs into the water and electricity so the showers have running water. Inside, the bus is alight.

Fraser unpacks the clothing donations, T-shirts and shorts for all different sizes. The summer heat had steadily made its way to Ballarat and it was one of the first hot days in mid-December.

The bus quickly gets stifling hot.

The volunteers place donations into their designated spaces

Russ sits on the driver's seat, but when people come to pass along more donations, he pops up to grab them.

Russ says there was never a shift where they don't get people dropping off boxes of donations.

One woman who visits the bus needs a hand getting inside, so she uses the driver's door, along with a hand from Russ.

A man of few words, Russ says he's been volunteering for almost two years. One of the few comments he makes was how hard it was maneuvering a 1986 bus.

Danni says this time of year the bus will get busier, but the bus had been getting more people over the past 12 months as people facing difficult times and struggle to get things like deodorant, body wash and shampoo, which have now become "luxuries".

Danni said she didn't expect many people to turn up until 7pm, which was when the SoupBus arrived, as the Shower Bus and SoupBus co-locate.

A few people pop in before 7pm, in need of a few items, body wash, deodorant, shorts. Some quiet, in and out to get what they need and others looking for a chat.

Danni said the biggest difference she had noticed recently was more families were coming in for items - people who work, people who have cars or even homes.

"It's been a terrible year for some families," she said.

She said people will have homes but don't have heating during the winter, and asked for sleeping bags to keep warm.

Fraser said as a volunteer he will often hear peoples stories, and no matter what, they will feel guilty for seeking help, saying "there are people more desperate than I am".

He said you'll hear the most traumatic story but people will still be grateful for what they have.

The Shower Bus is often to the brim with donations, and will put the excess in a storage unit.

One person dropped off two basic black winter coats - they looked heavy and good quality but it was a 30 degree evening.

Danni wasn't concerned, saying they'll come in handy soon enough - they'll go to storage and come winter, they can't have enough coats for people.

Two men and a dog arrive around the same time as a woman and her baby girl.

There are a lot of coos from the volunteers. The two men are in a great mood and keen for a chat.

The woman needs to find herself some items and Fraser holds her baby for her. He's happy to get the little one to smile.

The staffy, named Razz, whines while his dad grabs a few things.

Robert works two days a week as a gardener but he says his dog was his best mate and helped with loneliness.

"He's never bitten anyone, expect once to save my life," he said.

Apparently one night, an intruder tried to attack Robert to rob him, and Razz stopped the intruder and scared him off.

While Robert appears to be a typical older man, a bit gruff, a bit weathered, puffing away on a cigarette, he carries a huge smile and you can see how much he loves his pup - his face lighting up talking about Razz.

The little girl was happy to see a dog, and Razz was very gentle, licking her chubby cheeks.

Mum and bub quietly move on.

Robert's group say thanks and leave.

Over the two hours, no one used the shower, but Danni said that was the norm.

More people were coming in to grab essentials rather than use the showers.

One woman needed baby wipes, as she wasn't ready to use the shower yet.

Danni said it was a lot for people to strip down in public and use the shower - she walked the woman through the showers, showing her how they work and how they lock from the inside.

The bus didn't have any wipes, so Danni goes to her car to find some.

She and Fraser note they need to buy some from donated funds to add to the bus supplies.

Each person who visit the bus is marked down, so the volunteers know what people need.

"We've adapted to the needs, morphed into supplies over showers," she said.

Last year, the bus had around 1400 visits.

Danni said people always turn up, even if they don't have the bus.

A woman pulls up on her pushbike.

She said the bus was excellent and had never heard of something like this in a community.

"I didn't believe it when I was told about the Shower Bus," she said.

"I never had this much support."

The Shower Bus relies on volunteers, donations and the community.

Danni said Rotary were great, and they've previously covered the buses insurance, which is around $3000 a year, and the water tanks.

Danni and Fraser said they've never been concerned for their safety.

"If there is an argument, it's between the visitors and they'll sort it out themselves, they'll tell someone to go calm down or go for a walk," Danni said.

"They're more likely to step up to help us."

Danni said there was never any judgement on the bus from volunteers.

"We just treat people the way we want to be treated," she said.

"They feel invisible, no one will even look them in the eye. We might be the only social interaction they have all day."

How can you help? Visit One Humanity Shower Bus to find out more.