It was a daily commute to university alongside Melbourne’s homeless population that sparked HoMie Co-Founder Nick Pearce’s interest in trying to find a solution.
Clothing brand HoMie donates 100% of their profits to benefit the homeless in Australia.
The shop on Brunswick Street offers VIP shopping days to people living on the streets, to increase feelings of community.
“We close the shop to the general public and invite a homeless service to bring their clients in to shop for free, and choose five items at their own discretion,” says Nick.
“The idea is a real dignified shopping experience.”
Clothes for sale in HoMie's shop on Melbourne's Brunswick street. Source: HoMie Clothing
“I went on a fundraising bike ride for anti-child trafficking where I met Marcus riding from Vietnam to Cambodia, says Nick.
“I wanted to replicate something back home and that’s why I decided to focus on homelessness.”
Their company specifically targets the 43,500 people under the age of 25 experiencing homelessness across the nation.
Three years later, the team has created an ethical and sustainable Australian-made brand with a flagship store in Melbourne.
The first step, however, was making some noise to kick-start the campaign that would fund their enterprise.
“We did a crowdfunding campaign and that’s where we did a few stunts. Marcus and I lived rough for two nights and had I think $5.00,” says Nick.
“We were quite frightened really, being in a sleeping bag and people walking past. The comedy fest was on at that time and people were drinking and hearing those voices, and it was the vulnerability that really got to us.”
Nick Peace and Marcus Crook during their sleep out to raise funds for their crowdfunding campaign Source: Supplied
The crowdfunding campaign raised $20,000, spearheading their first pop-up space in 2014, which grew into their flagship store in 2017.
They use the space to tackle homelessness two-fold, with 100% of sales supporting people who live on the street, but also by offering their Pathway Project seeing paid interns learn job skills.
“I used to be very shy with talking and it’s definitely helped me in being confident. I’ve used this internship as a stepping stone and for myself to get out there and to learn more,” says Sean an intern with HoMie.
Their employment program, the Pathway Project, has intakes twice a year where three HoMie interns participate in a six-month training and employment program.
The internship includes paid employment, on-the-job experience at HoMie’s flagship store, and accredited learning through Knowledge Space to gain a Certificate III in Retail Operations.
The program’s 2017 graduating interns have all found meaningful employment and continue to financially support themselves.
A HoMie employee serves a customer Source: SBS
“We see dramatic results and that’s what makes it all worthwhile. To see people develop and come out the end of it self-sufficient to take on the world, it’s rewarding”, says Marcus.
