Homeless Homies co-founder Ahnne Araza tells Rolling Stone Philippines she hasn’t been back in Manila in 32 years. But now, she’s bringing the Amsterdam-based charitable organization to the Philippines, with her husband, Detroit techno artist DJ Bone set to play at Boogie, Makati City on Friday, December 5.
Like all fundraising parties held by Homeless Homies and DJ Bone’s label FURTHER, all the proceeds from this collaboration with Manila-based event platform Series will be used to fund outreach programs. For this leg, Araza says they have their sights set on Manila’s homeless and out-of-school youth.
The topic of homelessness has always been close to Araza’s heart. Her father was a musician, but after her parents’ split in the 1980s, her mother took the family to the U.S. while he was left in the Philippines. “My dad was lost for a long time because he was denied access to me and my brother, so all his motivation had gone out the window,” she says. “We immigrated to Los Angeles and years later, I found out that my dad was homeless.” Araza eventually reached out to her father, but he refused her help.
In 2002, DJ Bone, whose name offstage is Eric Dulan, began using 100 percent of the proceeds from his shows to help unhoused individuals in Detroit, Michigan, where the couple were formerly based.
“We have a source of income. I’m a tax accountant by profession,” says Araza. “We decided that when we brought together all the proceeds from streaming music sales, vinyl sales, merchandising, licensing, [it] will all go to Homeless Homies.”
She encouraged Dulan to get his peers to work on their project, saying that the respect he already had in Detroit’s dance scene could inspire change. “People in the entertainment world, we call it getting intoxicated with your own juice. When it’s not in front of you, it’s not something you worry about,” she says. “But if there’s somebody who is advocating for social change, you kind of think ‘Okay, that’s really something I want to get behind,’ and the impact is great.”
An Expanding Mission
In 2019, Dulan played at the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) in the Netherlands, bringing more traction to Homeless Homies’ advocacy. Every year since then, their fundraising events have gained support from bigger names in electronic music, from Richie Hawtin and Nicole Moudaber to Peggy Gou.
Araza notes that homeless experiences are different across countries and contexts. In the U.S., homeless individuals tend to lack trust in benefactors. “People give you what they think you need. They never ask you. DJ Bone and I, when we do our outreaches, we ask them, ‘What do you need? How can we help you? How can we bring a smile to your face today?’”
Care for the homeless is far different in Amsterdam. “The homeless here are very protected. They have a place where they can shower. They have a place where they can eat three meals a day. They have a place where they can sleep. There’s this group that we sponsor, it’s an art club for homeless people, where they meet two to three times a week to make art or go to a museum. It’s a nice break from being just on the street.”
For Araza, it’s crucial to help homeless and out-of-school youth in the Philippines. “I believe the path to elevating yourself is education,” she says. “Not necessarily school, but you need to find a chosen family, a mentor. It’s important to find the right people to gravitate around.”
“DJ Bone and I would like to have a dedicated facility, a temporary address for someone until they get back on their feet. [It would] provide medical and dental [care], emotional counseling.”
Araza admits their goals are a bit ambitious, “But we’re in our fifties. We would like to do something valuable to leave this world with.”
Series, FURTHER, and Homeless Homies’ club night will happen at Boogie in Poblacion, Makati, from 10 p.m. onwards. Tickets are pay-what-you-can with a minimum suggested donation of P500 per person.
