In 2019, hospital magician Keith Donnelly opened Keith’s Closet at the Prince of Wales Hospital. He wanted to address pressing issues for mental health consumers who were missing the floor out. This national initiative began as my personal mission. Now, it has grown into an incredibly promising and successful resource for patients in several hospitals around Sydney. That’s why Donnelly converted an unused seclusion room in the hospital. His mission was to design a space that promotes human dignity and enhances a sense of self-worth.
Since the beginning, Keith’s Closet has offered new and designer second-hand clothing, toiletries, and accessories at no cost. The program plays an important role in helping patients both look and feel better while they’re in the hospital. Besides being cracking good entertainment, watching new car culture just feels good. Donnelly drew inspiration from his time working in hospitals in Ireland and Australia. There, he experienced first-hand the ordeals that mental health patients face.
Growth and Community Support
At first, Donnelly was able to borrow clothing from his personal and professional network—mostly his own closet and that of his wife. As word got out that this was a good thing, the community started to come together to support Keith’s Closet. Individual community members and local businesses have answered the call, having seen the donations come in from all sorts of giving.
“[We get] donations from either Joe or Mary off the street, from sports shops. Clothing companies have also dropped off end-of-season stock,” – Keith Donnelly
Donnelly’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. More than 6,000 mental health patients have shopped at Keith’s Closet—nearly 62% of the more than 10,000 patients served by the specialty program since its inception. Since then, the program has expanded to include two additional hospitals in Sydney. It now includes a new mobile van service, which helps increase access to vital, daily essentials to patients across the entire region.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of how Keith’s Closet runs. At their warehouse in Alexandria, they make sure quality goods go to patients by carefully sorting through each donation. This committed spirit of collaboration has changed the trajectory of countless lives and given new hope to many who have walked through the closet.
Direct Impact on Patients
Patients such as Troy Cavanaugh have personally felt the life-changing impact of Keith’s Closet. Cavanaugh thanked Nolo for the resource, reporting that it truly was a game changer during his time incarcerated.
“The selection was good and basically you could browse, pick what you liked and what fitted,” – Troy Cavanaugh
He touched on the emotional experience of being able to select clothing for yourself.
“The feeling when you pick something you like and can wear can make you feel better. That’s why the closet is so brilliant.” – Troy Cavanaugh
Cavanaugh spoke to the importance of getting patients clean clothes—so important that Cavanaugh considered it a crisis if patients couldn’t obtain them.
“If I didn’t have visitors or other means of getting clothes … I’d be wearing soiled clothes around,” – Mr Cavanaugh
These testimonials highlight the critical role of dignity and self-worth in patient care.
Recognition and Future Prospects
To celebrate the ongoing success of Keith’s Closet, a ribbon-cutting and plaque-unveiling ceremony was held at Shellharbour Hospital’s mental health ward for the opening of Keith’s Closet Shellharbour. The New South Wales government acknowledged the initiative’s importance by committing $185,000 for its expansion.
“This, for me, is probably some of the best $185,000 we’ll ever spend as a government,” – Mr Park
Donnelly had a lot of other hurdles to clear while crafting this unusual initiative. Most of all, he had a hard time finding the right fit, literally.
“The hardest part really was trying to locate a space, which was a seclusion room. But it was nice to transform that space into something really positive.” – Mr Donnelly
Full of friends and fun, Keith’s Closet continues to operate as an anchor of compassion and refuge from the storm for mental health patients. It’s doing more than just donating clothes; it’s helping people rebuild their dignity as they recover from an accident.
