Friday, October 29 2010
The deaf and hearing impaired community know Nicole Lawder due to her tireless work with Deafness Forum of Australia. Nicole has taken on a new challenge, as CEO of Homelessness Australia, so we decided to ask her a few questions about her new role and what she hopes to achieve within the sector.
What was your motivation for taking up your role with Homelessness Australia?
Nicole: After 4 1/2 years at Deafness Forum, I was looking for a new challenge. I really enjoyed my work at Deafness Forum, so I thought that another community sector role would again be a rewarding experience. Also, I think it is good for organisations to have some refreshment every so often – new people bring new ideas and perspectives. So all in all, it was time for me to move on and to see what new things I could learn, and what I could contribute to a different area.
In your role as CEO of Deafness Forum of Australia (DFA) achieved a great deal for the DHI community, if you could successfully replicate this level of achievement with Homelessness Australia, what would you ultimately like to achieve?
Nicole: Obviously, I would like to see homelessness reduced; our target is to halve the number of homeless by 2020. There is also a lot of work that needs to be done to reduce the major causes of homelessness, including in the areas of domestic violence and mental health. I would like to see bi-partisan support for reducing homelessness and its causes. Homelessness is not a choice and the answers to homelessness are complex. In simple terms, there is a lack of affordable housing, but it goes so much further, deeper and wider than that.
Nicole: Homelessness Australia works to prevent and respond to homelessness in Australia. This is done through working with Federal Government departments to influence homelessness policy.
Nicole: I always feel that one of the greatest benefits of attending conferences is the contacts and networks you can create and tap into. For me, the recent Homelessness conference was an example of that – as someone new to the sector, it was so useful to meet many of the key stakeholders face-to-face so early in my tenure at Homelessness Australia. I am looking forward to building on those relationships over the coming years.
What are the current burning issues around homelessness in Australia?
Domestic and family violence is the leading cause of homelessness. To reduce or eliminate domestic and family violence would be an outstanding achievement, not just in homelessness but across many spheres. Mental health is also an enormous issue in homelessness, just as it is in many other parts of Australian society.
We are also currently working with the
Australian Bureau of Statistics to ensure that homeless people are counted in the 2011 Census. This is important, as many government programs flow out of the statistics in the Census; intuitively, you can see how difficult it might be to count the homeless.
Another burning issue relates to the workforce within the community sector. Pay equity is a real challenge for the sector in trying to encourage skilled and committed workers to remain in the sector.
Nicole: During the Labor Government’s first term (December 2008) a white paper was released on homelessness. The challenges that have arisen from the paper surround the implementation and monitoring of the programs and services outlined in the paper. It is too early to determine whether the changes have reduced homelessness, but hopefully this will become evident over the coming years.
Other upcoming priorities for us in 2011 include new Homelessness Legislation as well as the introduction of a
National Quality Framework for providers of services to people experiencing homelessness.
Also, just as has happened in the disability sector, future homelessness service provision must be underpinned by a rights-based approach. This will provide an unprecedented way forward for homelessness, to ensure Australia meets its obligations under a range of instruments. Genuine collaboration between
Homelessness Australia (and our members) and the government is one way to deliver this rights-based response to homelessness.
Who is the most inspiring person that you have met throughout your time in the not-for-profit sector?
Nicole: That’s a difficult question. I have met so many fantastic people over the past few years, people who are passionate and professional about their work, such as Alex Jones, who was Chairman of
Deafness Forum during most of the time that I was CEO. Other standouts include Graeme Innes and Michael Small from the
Australian Human Rights Commission and Ann Porter of
Aussie Deaf Kids, who has provided support for parents of deaf kids as a labour of love for many years, and they have really made a difference. I also took a lot of inspiration from Li Cunxin, the Chinese ballet dancer who spoke at one of the
National Deafness Sector Summits; an ordinary person who seized every opportunity to have an extraordinary life. I suppose the person I have been most inspired by though, is Stan Batson, who was the first Deaf Chairman of
Deafness Forum, and who continues to work tirelessly for the Deaf and hearing impaired communities at an age when many people have long retired. When I met Stan, he inspired me to learn
Auslan (Australian Sign Language) early on in my time at
Deafness Forum.
