Minor Figures joins youth homelessness fight

How alt-milk brand Minor Figures is backing HoMie’s fight to end youth homelessness.

Minor Figures is a long-time supporter of Melbourne streetwear and social enterprise HoMie. This support was taken to new heights with the first iteration of HoMie’s new Store Sessions initiative, where ARIA Award-winning musician Tash Sultana played an intimate set at the brand’s Fitzroy store.

The Store Sessions concept has been inspired by the popular Tiny Desk Concerts series by United States public broadcaster NPR, and aims to bring the community together to raise awareness of the issues surrounding young people experiencing homelessness in Australia.

This collaboration is the latest in a long line of partnerships between Minor Figures and HoMie. Minor Figures General Manager Henry Catts says it is important to the alt-milk brand to support initiatives like this and be active in the communities it operates in.

“What HoMie is trying to achieve is just phenomenal. Anything raising this kind of awareness about youth homelessness and doing something to improve the lives of young people is so important,” says Henry.

“Minor Figures is a smaller, community-minded business that was started by a couple of Aussies – we’re not a large corporation. Our products are made here in Victoria and supporting local communities and businesses is one of our core values at Minor Figures. It’s important to give back as local communities are what drives the Australian coffee scene. 

“We’re always looking at ways we can give back. For coffee, music, and culture to come together in this way to support the community is just fantastic.”

It is hoped Tash’s Store Session is the first in a long line of performances that will continue to shine a light on the issues facing young people experiencing homelessness.

Bad//Dreems and Big Words also played at the event. HoMie Creative Director Marcus Crook hopes new ideas like Store Sessions will continue to embed these issues in the minds of the public and motivate more people to act.

“Outside the amazing performances, we see this as an opportunity to spark conversations about the issue and give people more understanding of the stereotypes and stigmas around young people experiencing homelessness. Breaking down those barriers and starting a conversation is often the first point of helping,” says Marcus.

“This is another way for us to work with local artists and build the community, because it does take a real community of people to help solve the issue of homelessness. If there are different ways we can provide platforms for people to help us do that, I feel it’s a good opportunity.”

That opportunity goes both ways, as Marcus believes the Store Sessions can also help musicians tap into their creativity.

“It creates a new platform for Australian musicians and artists to do something different and creative. I felt there was a bit of a gap in the Australian market for that.”

HoMie manages a range of programs to provide people with the tools to move out of homelessness, with its Fitzroy storefront a key component in its operations.

The social enterprise runs an eight-month Pathway Alliance Program in which young people are paid to study and work with the business on the shop floor for a guaranteed 12 hours per week. HoMie also pays for them to complete a Certificate III in Business.

They recently launched a more condensed 10-week Retail Ready program for young people that simply need an opportunity and some retail experience to get them into the workforce and on their way.

It runs VIP days, where the team partner with youth homelessness services to bring young people into the shop to select five items of clothing for free, and give them the opportunity to get a haircut, have some food, and grab a coffee.

Minor Figures’ involvement in the Store Sessions initiative extends far beyond adding their name to a list of partners or sponsors. Like in previous collaborations with HoMie, the brand and its mascot, Penny, were in the thick of things helping to heighten the experience for those who attended.

“Collaborating with Market Lane Coffee, we created bespoke drinks on the day using our Barista Oat milk to provide coffees for the bands playing and the people who came along to the event” says Henry.

“People are loving the new flavour profile of our Barista Oat, but the most popular drink on the night was our Churros iced lattes using our recently launched churros-flavoured oat milk, which tastes like a cinnamon doughnut. We also worked with made by Fressko to make some limited-edition cups to serve the drinks in.”

Marcus says Minor Figures has long held a desire to elevate experiences for the people HoMie supports through its outreach programs.

“We’ve been talking about this for years, so to have the support of Minor Figures is great,” he says.

“This hasn’t just been a one-off partnership. In the past, they’ve provided coffee for our VIP days and we even used to have one of their fridges in-store.

“It’s awesome for them to back this pilot when there’s no real data behind it. We’ve been really well supported by the brand over the years and I’m so glad they could be a part of this first one.”

The phrase ‘begin as you mean to go on’ rings true for the first Store Session. Tash Sultana is one of the biggest names in Australian music. They launched into international stardom with their single Jungle, which was ranked third in the 2016 Triple J Hottest 100 countdown.

They have well over three million monthly listeners on Spotify alone, and more than one million followers on Instagram. Marcus says – like Minor Figures – Tash’s association with HoMie began long before the first Store Session.

“When we started HoMie I was working at General Pants, and I recall Tash Sultana was playing in Bourke Street Mall as a busker,” says Marcus. “I remember just being infatuated with how talented they were.

“Tash has always supported us in buying and wearing our clothing on social media, it’s awesome to have a full-circle moment where they have agreed to be part of this.

“They have their own charities to support young people, but the biggest representation of young people experiencing homelessness are from LGBTQI+ backgrounds, so it’s really good to grow this organic relationship we already have with Tash.”

Henry says the involvement of such a well known Australian artist was the cherry on-top of what was already a winning idea.

“It was already a yes from us before we heard about Tash. To have someone of their standing involved was just fantastic and it will help get so many eyes on this message, which is such a wonderful thing,” he says.

“Bad//Dreems and Big Words were also really exciting. It was great to see them put on such a great show.

“Fitzroy was the perfect setting for the first Store Session, because it’s an area that is synonymous with street fashion and coffee community. It’s our real heartland from a Melbourne perspective, so it just made sense for us to get involved.

For more information, visit au.minorfigures.com