A note from the HoMie Board and Management team
To all our fellow HoMies,
Our thoughts are with all of you, your friends and families during these uncertain times.
We want to also make sure we remember those in our communities who are still
experiencing homelessness during this period of ‘social distancing’. It is tough enough in ‘normal’ times, please do not let these people slip from your thoughts at this difficult time.
Our primary aim is to ensure we keep all of our customers, staff and local community safe. Our beautiful store in Fitzroy will remain closed from now for the foreseeable future as we follow advice from the Australian Government. Our online store remains firmly open with fantastic offers on our T’s and Hoodies. Please shop there as much as you want and can afford. We know everyone is experiencing tougher times but every garment you buy directly contributes to our mission to reduce youth homelessness and hardship. Even if you are not buying, you can continue to generously donate to HoMie via our webstore, homie.com.au.
During this difficult time, we remain committed to being upfront and open with all of our staff and team members. This is also true for our new intake of HoMie interns, who started this month.
Our Pathway Alliance Program will continue but with some changes. It will transition into the Retail Readiness Program. This still allows our interns to access an accredited education, coaching and mentoring program from our dedicated HoMie staff and valuable partners. We appreciate this program will be different to what was planned but no-one foresaw the events we are experiencing now. Most importantly, we remain committed to ensuring a program exists and delivers positive outcomes for our young people.
Our intent through all of this is that HoMie remains a viable and sustainable social
enterprise delivering its mission, month after month, year after year. The events we are experiencing have caused significant financial pressure for us and we appreciate the ongoing support and generosity of all our existing donors. We would not exist without you at this time and are truly grateful for your support. The Board and management have carefully worked through numerous business scenarios to ensure we still offer a program this year and remain viable into the future years. We will not let Covid -19 stop HoMie!
As the situation evolves, we will continue to review all aspects of our operations, and keep all our staff, stakeholders and customers informed.
We hope you and your families stay healthy, and we appreciate your support for our
fantastic social enterprise, of which we are all very proud.
Our best,
The HoMie Board and Management team