I Love Reading Stories Like This! Local Businesses Helping The Homeless!

4. Pono Soap

It may not seem like a big deal, but to a homeless person, soap is not small thing. A lot of health issues surrounding homelessness are caused by a lack of access to basic sanitation necessities. Kathryn started out making soaps for her spouse who had sensitive skin, but soon started making more, giving a lot of soap to a homeless encampment in her local community of Honolulu. The profit that she makes from selling the other portion of soaps she makes goes directly back into the community by establishing housing subsidies for homeless families at risk for abuse and trafficking.

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5. Borderland Tees

This local custom t-shirt shop started out as just a way to meet people, and serve them with some cool threads. But it has turned into so much more. After talking with a lot of the locals in the community, it was apparent to shop owners, Bob Riehl and Reverend Jenny Arthur that they had a much bigger opportunity to impact the community: to employ the homeless and downtrodden, and bless them with steady work in a caring environment. Bob and Jenny describe their business model as, “capitalism for the common good,” where the relationships they build are intentional. The owners are currently only a brick and mortar store, but they are hoping to expand business to online venues soon.