Reflections from our Chair Vanessa Chan
Nine months into the role, our Chair Vanessa Chan reflects on Head Start Homes’ purpose, progress and potential.
There’s an extraordinary sense of commitment shining through Vanessa as she talks about her time on the Head Start Homes (HSH) board.
“One of the reasons I was really attracted to HSH was because we’re clearly in a housing crisis in terms of equal access and affordability,” she explained.
“There’s a systemic failure across government and community in Australia to adequately address homelessness, and yet it’s the most vulnerable in our community who require access to safe and secure homes.”
“What Head Start homes does is help single-parent families, First Nations people and others living in community housing to move into their own homes. It’s a unique offering. In fact, it’s one of those models that you look at and say: ‘Of course, how is this not happening across the entire sector?’”
Data around affordability and homelessness shows there’s almost 200,000 people on waiting lists (with 10 plus years to wait) to get into community and public housing with 60% of those people identified as homeless at the time they’re getting onto the lists.
Vanessa Chan, Chair of Head Start Homes Board
Vanessa believes HSH is quite radical in its approach to homelessness.
“We are looking to support tenants to move into home ownership - creating the opportunity to interrupt the intergenerational cycle of poverty. Every time we do this, we are also freeing up places in community housing to address the backlog,” she said.
“With the work we have done to date in putting people into their own homes for the first time, there are 10 direct beneficiaries from every single transaction.”
“We fully intend to get to a place where we can open up this offering to many more people who are entitled to the opportunity.”
Given HSH is in its start-up phase, Vanessa said the board is continually working to establish new models of home ownership and new types of relationships.
“We have to have a pipeline of process and the sense of a shared mission between an incredibly diverse group of stakeholders - everyone from community housing providers, the finance sector, development and property industry representatives to government and social welfare related organisations,” she said.
“The thing is that these groups of people don’t usually talk to each other! We need to bring them all to the same table, acknowledging there’s a shared understanding that we have a problem - and what we then need to develop is a shared sense of obligation and responsibility to address it.”
There is enormous benefit to be gained with this shared value model because it instigates structural changes, according to Vanessa.
“The existing ways are not sufficient to offer a solution. Banks need new products, the government needs to free up eligibility criteria, the private sector needs to provide guarantees to support people to help them navigate their way.
“It can be a really high risk, intimidating process to go through the acquisition of a home—particularly if you come from a place where nobody in your family has ever done it before.
“Head Start Homes takes a holistic approach to how we address this. We are looking to develop industry partnerships and cultivate a network of relationships.
“We see ourselves as creating opportunities and choices—our approach is always empowerment focused. We don’t see ourselves as a social welfare provider—we see ourselves as partners who are disrupting structures to enable people to get the access they are entitled to.”
Vanessa is proud to be leading a board she describes as young, contemporary, dynamic, highly expert and incredibly committed.
“In all my career, I have never seen a board like ours before—we have bankers, lawyers, property advisors, researchers, practitioners in the social impact and community development space; and a really strong representation of women, First Nations people and cultural diversity.
“The kind of stuff we’re doing is all about that cross-sectoral approach. We are addressing obligations and opportunities that our entire community and economy needs to be responding to - it’s not just one sector’s issue. And this disruptive piece is just so important.”
Vanessa Chan (Chair), Stephen Woodlands (Founder and Managing Director) and Caroline Dunlop (Company Secretary)
Mark Bower, Joel Larsen, Airlie Fox, Vanessa Chan, Stephen Woodlands, Sarah Reilly and Caroline Dunlop
About Vanessa
Vanessa is a contemporary public sector CEO and management consultant with expertise in community development and social impact who has successfully led large and complex organisations. Recognised as an expert in strategy, culture, governance, and transformation, she has a proven track record in delivering innovative, community focused programs and is passionate about citizen engagement.
Vanessa currently works as a Senior Associate at Spencer Maurice and previously worked as the CEO at Ashfield and Inner West Councils, successfully leading the merger of Ashfield, Leichhardt and Marrickville Councils.