Melbourne man launches street art hoodie scheme to help the homeless

A Melbourne man is attempting to tackle homelessness through an innovative social enterprise combining street art and street wear.

IT consultant and father-of-two Ben Hoban, 41, said he was moved to take action after he noticed an “alarming increase in begging and homelessness” in the city.

“I used to sell hoodies on the domain www.hoodies.com.au but closed it down for a while,” he told 9news.com.au.

“Moving to Spain, I had no use for the domain name anymore and figured I would put it to good use.

Working with local artists and designers, Mr Hoban created Hosier Hoodies: a new line of hoodies and t-shirts incorporating street art taken from Melbourne’s Laneways, the proceeds of which would go to the Steps program, which strives to find accommodation for the homeless of Melbourne.

Hosier Hoodies was officially launched on Thursday night and features three hoodies with design by artists Facter, Burger and Ox King.

Of each $89 sale, $50 will go to production and delivery and $20 to the program, run by not-for-profit Concern Australia. The remaining $9 is earmarked for designer and artist royalties.

Mr Hoban has also launched a competition encouraging local design students to photograph street art they’d like to see incorporated into the hoodie designs.

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