Gellibrand client Hong Ngoc Ly’s first job in “a long time” has given him as much as he’s giving to Melbourne’s homeless.
When I first met Hong Ngoc Ly in 2024, he was committed to a daily exercise regime as he worked through some physical challenges. Two years previously he’d been confined to a wheelchair and he was determined to do all he could to get stronger. When I met him in May 2026, Hong’s strength and mobility had increased – to the extent that he’d taken up part-time employment
For three hours every Thursday and two hours every Saturday, Hong works at a shop in Avondale Heights making biscuits and sandwiches that food vans later take to homeless people around Melbourne.
“I go to Sunshine, meet the guy who picks up seven or eight of us, and he drives us to Avondale Heights,” Hong told me.
Hong came to Australia from Vietnam in 1981 and he said his new job was the first he’d had in “a long time”.
“My support coordinator, Di, she organised it for me,” he said, adding that his last job had been as a packer in a factory.
At the Avondale Heights shop, Hong makes sandwiches and biscuits, the latter of which he said have plenty of butter and are always sweet.
“They can be snowballs or coconut flavour. And the sandwiches are egg, ham, cheese and tomato.”
The biscuits and sandwiches are packaged together then sent off to the food vans for their nightly trips, where they’re given to those in need, along with a cup of tea or coffee. Hong said his job had made a positive impact on his life.
“It gives me exercise; I get out and see people. It takes the stress out of me and I’m not thinking too much. I really look forward to it,” Hong said.
Hong said he’d also learnt a lot through his job, including safe food handling and how to craft biscuits so they “always look nice.”
“You do it all by hand and the biscuits can’t look rough,” he said, adding that he had to wear an apron, hat and gloves as he worked. “You wash your hands and clean your area. Everyone follows the rules.”
Hong said that when his physical challenges lead to him getting tired on the job, he’s able to sit to do his work, which he appreciates. “Sometimes I sit down when it’s time to do the wrapping.”
He added that his work meant he was more excited about Wednesday nights, which are his turn to cook for the clients at Honey Grove, his Gellibrand share house. He also plans to bake biscuits soon for his housemates.
“I like what I’m learning at my job. It’s like when I was at school and doing cooking classes,” he laughed. “It makes me relaxed and happy.”
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