HoMie is a Melbourne-based streetwear label, social enterprise, and charity that exists to combat youth homelessness. We do this by running impact programs that equip young people with the skills, confidence, and experience, to be more work-ready and better prepared for their future. Since 2015, with your help, we’ve been able to support over 5000 young people across Australia.
HoMie is a Melbourne-based streetwear label, social enterprise, and charity that exists to combat youth homelessness. We do this by running impact programs that equip young people with the skills, confidence, and experience, to be more work-ready and better prepared for their future. Since 2015, with your help, we’ve been able to support over 5000 young people across Australia.
An idea started between a group of friends eager to break down the stigma attached with homelessness and those experiencing it rough on the streets.
The team developed a Facebook page, Homelessness of Melbourne to draw awareness to the faces and stories of everyday people affected by homelessness, and allow people to share their own narrative in a dignified way, ultimately destigmatising and humanising the issue.
HoMie created it’s ‘Pathway Project’ to address issues and barriers that prevent young people affected by homelessness or hardship from becoming gainfully employed. Young people were selected through partnered community support services for the paid accredited retail training and education program run out of our Fitzroy store.
Before the year ends, HoMie celebrates the graduates of the pilot program who have the skills, confidence and experiences to be more work-ready and better prepared for their future.
After witnessing the change and impact the Pathway Project had on the community, HoMie set out to expand the Pathway Project as an employment model for other businesses. HoMie officially pilots the HoMie Pathway Alliance Program for the first time, partnering with Cotton On Stores, and celebrates the graduation of the successful young people and their achievements through the program.
HoMie celebrates our 1,000th VIP Shopper, welcoming them through our door to shop with our staff for a day of pampering and fun. HoMie expands Pathway Alliance retail partners to include Hanes Brands (Champion and Bonds) allowing us to grow the number of young people participating in the Pathway Alliance Program each year.
After serious demand from our upcycled collection, HoMie launches REBORN - Premium upcycled garments reproduced in Melbourne for re-wear. HoMie’s grows the Pathway Alliance retail partners to include Retail Prodigy Group (Nike and TOMS). HoMie welcomes our largest number of interns ever for the 2020 Pathway Alliance Program, placing and training young people in paid retail positions at the HoMie street store and with our retail partners across Melbourne.
Five years on, HoMie is living by our core values that homelessness is a situation you can move out of with the right opportunity, support, and empowerment.
After celebrating 10 years of HoMie, we’re continuing to grow our impact. In 2025, we launched Retail Ready, opened our new flagship store at Emporium Melbourne and achieved 100% completion across our employment and education programs. Our VIP Program supported 604 young people and gifted 2,554 items of brand-new clothing. The mission remains the same: creating opportunity and community for young people affected by homelessness and hardship.
Early 2015
2017
2018
2019
2020
Present 2026
Since 2015, HoMie has had over 5,031 young people come through the HoMie Pathway Alliance, Retail Ready, and VIP Programs. That's over 250 a year!
Every year, through our VIP Program, HoMie gifts over 1000 items of brand-new HoMie clothing to young people affected by homelessness or hardship.
Young people have worked over 30,760+ hours of paid retail employment at the HoMie store or with HoMie-trained partners
(Sportsgirl, Nike, Bunnings, AMX)
Young people enrolled in the HoMie Pathway Alliance are paid to study a Cert III in Business, while also being paid to undertake personal and professional development classes.
All young people employed in our programs are paid according to the General Retail Industry Award - no ‘volunteering,’ ‘job readiness training’ or ‘payment in exposure’ with us!
85% of Pathway Alliance Graduates are employed in meaningful work and/or are enrolled in further education 12-months post-program. Long-term, life-changing, impact.
Hugo shares his experience of Retail Ready, what he’s learned along the way and what having the right support at work has meant to him.
HoMie began in 2015 in Melbourne, Australia as a Facebook page to raise awareness around the homelessness crisis in Australia. That page turned into a pop-up shop, selling streetwear clothing, using fashion to get people talking. That pop-up turned into a store, a community, and a mission. A space where we can employ young people affected by homelessness, donate clothes to people who need it, and continue using fashion to break down stigmas, getting all Australians involved to end youth homelessness.
On any given night in Australia over 40,000 young people aged 15-24 are affected by homelessness. 52% of Australians believe that is due to personal choices. The reality is that the leading causes of youth homelessness are family and domestic violence, family breakdown and a lack of affordable housing.
At HoMie we know that we can’t be everything for everyone, but we can be something for someone. Our three programs are designed to meet young people where they’re at, providing everything from immediate relief through our VIP Program, through to long-term education and employment through the Pathway Alliance. Ultimately, we want young people to leave homelessness behind forever.
We design and sell our clothes here in Melbourne, then use 100% of the profits to support our mission! We sell our clothes through our two retail stores, in Fitzroy, and at the Emporium shopping centre in Melbourne’s CBD, as well as here on our website.
These stores act as the hub of our community and are where we run our three impact programs: VIP Program, Retail Ready, and the Pathway Alliance.
Right now we’re looking at what a HoMie Sydney store would look like. We ran a really successful pop up in Surry Hills earlier this year, with another planned for this Christmas. If you’re planning your Christmas shopping, watch this space!
Right now we’re looking at what a HoMie Sydney store would look like. We ran a really successful pop up in Surry Hills earlier this year, with another planned for this Christmas. If you’re planning your Christmas shopping, watch this space!
The HoMie Pathway Alliance is our eight-month-long paid education and retail for young people (aged 18-25) affected by homelessness or hardship. We pay young people to study a Cert III in Business that we facilitate with a local RTO and at the same time employ them - either at our HoMie Fitzroy store, or with a Pathway Alliance employer partner. We work with some amazing brands for this program, including Nike, Sportsgirl, Bunnings, and AMX. Some big names are joining us next year too - Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and Yo-Chi are all going to be partnering with HoMie.
The Pathway Alliance runs once a year, from March to October. We take referrals from Community Service Organisations who support young people affected by homelessness or hardship.
If you are a community services worker, please fill out this form. If you are a young person interested in getting involved, please speak to your support worker about HoMie
The HoMie VIP Program was our very first impact program and it’s still going strong today! It works in two ways: VIP Days and VIP Packs.
VIP Days see HoMie close the doors to our store to the public and invite young people affected by homelessness in to shop for free. Young people choose items of brand new HoMie clothing, enjoy haircuts, beauty services, and lunch with the HoMie crew. VIP Days are hosted by graduates of HoMie’s Pathway Alliance and Retail Ready programs, they’re days designed to build confidence, connection, and for the young people to have fun!
For young people who can’t attend a VIP Day in person, we send out VIP Packs that include all the same good stuff as the VIP Days - brand new HoMie clothes and amazing beauty products from our partners like Kiehl’s and Pinchapoo!
Unfortunately due to the severity of the homelessness crisis and our limited resources, we currently have a major backlog of services waiting to access the VIP Program. We're doing the best we can to support everyone, so we appreciate your patience. We take applications from Community Service Organisations who support young people affected by homelessness or hardship
Retail Ready is our newest employment program, designed as a first step into employment for young people (18-25) who need a bit of extra support in the workplace. Retail Ready runs for 10 weeks at a time at our Emporium and Fitzroy stores. Retail Ready is different from a lot of other work readiness programs, we pay young people an award wage, and have an in-store youth worker supporting the young people on the floor.
Retail Ready runs four times a year. Jan-March, April-June, July-September, and October-December. Like the Pathway Alliance Program, if you are a Community Service Organisation and you want to go on the waitlist to refer a young person, please fill out the expression of interest below. If you have a question about our programs here at HoMie, please email programs@homie.com.au.
Stay across the latest HoMie news, product drops, community stories and impact updates. From new collections to conversations around youth homelessness, this is where we share what we’re building and why it matters.
