The world-wide trend of the free ‘pop up clothing store’ for the homeless came to Grahamstown. The 11th of October 2014 was the town’s first ever Street Store, outside of the Magistrate court on High Street
Bearing excited faces, the Street Store team of helpers and organisers of the project stand together, just minutes before the opening of the store.
Beaming from ear to ear as he leaves the store, Vuyel January proudly holds up a pair of pants saying, “I can’t wait to try this on, Thank you, Street Store”.
The world-wide trend of the free ‘pop up clothing store’ for the homeless came to Grahamstown. The 11th of October 2014 was the town’s first ever Street Store, outside of the Magistrate court on High Street
One of the biggest concerns for homeless youth here in Grahamstown is the lack of long-term community support. Because of this, they rely solely on any form of small help to try and survive yet another night on the street.
So you can imagine the appreciation and surprise when street youth in Grahamstown caught wind of the Street Store project coming to town.
The Street Store initiative is the world's first free 'pop-up clothing store' for the homeless, situated entirely on the street and curated by individuals within their communities.
The project’s aim is to unite the “haves” with the “have not’s” and to restore the dignity of those less fortunate, by offering a free ‘shopping’ experience and free clothing to those in need.
The Grahamstown Street Store was held on High Street (outside the Magistrate court), on the 11th of October 2014. The initiative was supported and organised by local businesses, community volunteers and students at Rhodes University, who collected and sorted through an abundance of second hand clothing and donations for the Store.
This project may be a temporary initiative, but for many who are used to rummaging through a dustbin, the 3 hour shopping experience sparked a number of smiles and happy faces.
For others living on the street however, they were not very pleased, pointing out a number of employed non-homeless people helping themselves to the free clothing which were meant to benefit those most in need.
The Street Store has been dubbed a kind and creative gesture, but it was also an event that reminds us of the daunting reality of the large and growing population of homeless citizens living on the streets.
The Street Store Project
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