FAQs
How did the idea of HoMie come to life?
The team started with a Facebook page – Homelessness of Melbourne, to drive 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.
Inspired by global movements encouraging community change, Nick and Marcus held a Street Store pop-up, designed to provide a dignified shopping experience and clothing for vulnerable members of the community.
This idea developed into a temporary pop-up at Melbourne Central, before the team took over 296 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, HoMie’s current flagship store. Come say hi!
Want to know more? Click here.
Do you run VIP Days outside of Melbourne?
In 2019 we hosted two very special VIP Days outside of Melbourne. The first was in Shepparton, Victoria and the second was in Mutitjulu, located at the base of Uluru in the Northern Territory.
The majority of our VIP Days are hosted in our flagship store, however we are hoping to do more rural VIP Days in the future. If you are a service outside of Melbourne, email us and we can see what we can do!
I am a young person affected by hardship. How do I apply for the HoMie Pathway Alliance internship?
If you have a key support worker and are linked to a support service, speak to them and let them know you are interested in the HoMie internship. They will then get in touch with us, and we can work on getting you linked in to our application process.
If you don’t have a key support worker and are not linked to a support service, please contact a service from our Community Service Partners to see if you are eligible for their programs.
What is the application process for the internship?
HoMie hosts information sessions at the HoMie Street Store for young people nominated by our community service partners. After attending a HoMie information session, young people hand in an application form.
Successful applicants will be selected to attend an interview with HoMie and our Pathway Alliance retail partners. Together, we select those candidates who are ready to commit to the opportunity and who will be an asset to our teams.
I work for a community support service. How do I get one of my young people/clients into the HoMie Pathway Alliance internship?
HoMie partners with support services on an organisational level. To get the conversation started on how we can partner with your organisation and open up the internship to your clients, please email us.
I work for a community support service. How do I sign-up my service for a HoMie VIP Shopping Day?
Send us an email to get your service slotted into our VIP Calendar. All we need is some information on your organisation, a short spiel about the program participating and roughly how many VIPs you would like to bring in to HoMie on the day, and we can go from there.
I am a HoMie supporter, can I volunteer at HoMie?
THANK YOU! We have a few ways you can support HoMie.
Shop
The best way to support HoMie is simply to shop in store. You get new HoMie threads and feel good about funding our programs at the same time. Love that for you.
Fundraise
For something a bit more fun, you can host a fundraising activity to raise funds for HoMie and our programs.
To date, legendary HoMies have fundraised by throwing parties, gigs, exhibitions, fun runs, tattoo events, raffles and all sorts of creative and unique ideas. Here is the link to our fundraising platform or get in touch with info@homie.com.au to share your fundraising story. We want to hear all about it - photos, details, everything!
Share
Still saving for that epic HoMie hood you’ve had your eye on? An easy but powerful way to support HoMie is to spread the word! Assign yourself as an unofficial HoMie ambassador and follow, share, tag @homie.com.au. Tell everyone you know and wear HoMie garms with pride.
Volunteer
Our Store and Youth programs are run by highly experienced and trained HoMie staff, so we don’t use volunteers in these areas of the business.
However, we DO work with volunteers in other areas of the business.
Do you have a special skill you think that could help us? Are you a creative who could do a shoot for us? Are you an accountant with spare time? Are you a media legend who wants to talk about us?
The best way to help us is to help us do our business better.
Contact info@homie.com.au.
So, you guys are a charity? Or a Social Enterprise? What does that mean and how does it all work?
Great question! And the answer is we are a social enterprise with a registered DGR1-status - a bit tricky we know.
This means we operate as a social enterprise, like any for-profit business. The big difference to other for-profit businesses? We commit 100% of HoMie’s profits towards achieving our mission to support young people affected by homelessness or hardship to build the skills, confidence and experiences to be more work-ready and better prepared for their future.
We invest 100% our profits in all the important stuff needed to achieve this mission - like running our shop in Fitzroy, designing streetwear garments and running our two social impact programs - the HoMie Pathway Alliance and HoMie VIP Shopping days - successfully!
Where are your clothes made?
Great question. Please read all about our production here.
What’s the difference between HoMie clothing and REBORN by HoMie?
HoMie is brand-new clothing, REBORN is hand-produced using pre-loved materials, second hand garments to create one-of-a-kind upcycled pieces.
How do I get a job on the HoMie team?
Any new positions that come up within the organisation will be advertised on Ethical Jobs and Seek employment. If you think you would be a gun edition to our small but solid team, you are welcome to email your CV and cover letter to info@homie.com.au for us to keep on file for upcoming positions.