We Help reduce poverty and homelessness by:

1. Reducing homelessness by increasing the availability of social and affordable housing

One of our key objectives is to reduce poverty and homelessness in Australia by increasing the availability of social and affordable housing and reducing housing waitlists. Every time we assist someone who is living in or eligible for social of affordable housing we benefit:

1. The social or affordable housing tenant who needs to overcome structural disadvantages to purchase their own home;

2. Households who are on social or affordable housing waitlists because it means they can move into an affordable rental home sooner.

Living in a stable and secure home provides a foundation to progress other areas of life, ultimately empowering households to dramatically improve their circumstances and open doors to brighter futures.

2. Equalising access to home ownership

Home ownership is one of the most effective means of eradicating intergenerational poverty (2). This is because home ownership provides a secure asset on which to rely in retirement, as well as an inheritance to pass on. Most first-time buyers today rely on the "bank of mum and dad" to help them achieve their home ownership dreams (3).

This means that, for the first time in modern history, parental wealth is more important than individual efforts when it comes to purchasing a home.

By removing the need for a deposit and mortgage, the Head Start Guarantee provides community housing tenants with a similar pathway to home ownership which is currently only offered to wealthier Australians.

Our empowerment services also equalise access to home ownership by helping our clients overcome the ‘knowledge barrier’ for getting mortgage-ready and purchasing a home.

3. Amplifying equality through fairer finance

Elgible clients who are accepted for a Head Start Guarantee will be provided with best in market interest rates and lower fees. Thus, working with our banking partners we are shifting the status quo to make finance cheaper for people on lower incomes.

This means that our applicants on average may save more than $50,000 or more on interest rate savings and reduced fees over the life of their loan when compared to traditional low deposit loans.

We are therefore helping to create a finance system whereby social return (and not only profits) is a key motivator for the availability of finance.

4.  Delivering a multiplier effect for ending poverty

Head Start Homes is a social enterprise with a financially sustainable model. Investing in our work delivers a high social and economic return. As the new home starter pays down their mortgage and/or house prices rise, our Head Start Guarantee can be recycled for another community housing household.

Our 2020 modelling suggests that an investment in Head Start Homes of $72,000 (average cost of one home ownership journey) will result in individual and community benefits worth $83,628 in the first year alone. After ten years, this single investment is projected to deliver over $1 million worth of the individual and community benefits while providing homes for 4 households (approx. 12 individuals).

5.  A cost-effective way to increase the availability of social and affordable housing

It is more cost efficient to empower social and affordable housing residents to voluntarily leave their home than to build more housing stock. We estimate that a $72,000 investment might provide an additional 6 community housing units over a 30-year period. This is in comparison to the expense of constructing six new homes, which would cost approximately $2,160,000.