CEO Reflections
Bridge Housing: One year on
When I stepped into the role of CEO at Bridge Housing, I was new to both the organisation and the broader community housing sector. Over the past 12 months, it’s been both a privilege and a lot of fun to get to know our tenants and the incredible Bridge team, and witness firsthand the profound impact that safe, secure, and affordable housing has on people’s wellbeing.
Just three weeks into the role, one of our tenants, Alfie*, approached me with a ten-minute handshake and overwhelming gratitude. After a decade of couch-surfing, he had just received the keys to his new home. He told me it felt like his life could finally begin again. That moment has stayed with me; it was a such powerful reminder of why Bridge exists.
Discovering Bridge from the Inside
Over the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to experience Bridge from many angles:
- Overhearing staff on calls with tenants and applicants, compassionate, hopeful; working tirelessly to find solutions that truly fit.
- Joining housing managers onsite for block meetings, addressing safety and antisocial behaviour with clear communication and a deep commitment to building community.
- Watching our assets team deliver again and again in improved homes for people from the day-to-day work of maintenance to getting meanwhile use projects off the ground.
- Seeing innovation take root—from a simple idea to a new model of supported temporary accommodation now being adopted elsewhere in NSW.
- Listening to staff with lived experience of homelessness, whose passion and advocacy bring strength and authenticity to our team.
- Collaborating with our skilled and visionary Board to shape Bridge’s next strategic chapter; balancing purpose, tenant wellbeing, risk, and long-term sustainability.
Navigating a Sector in Crisis
The housing crisis in Australia is devastating. Yet, if there’s one silver lining, it’s that governments, federal, state, and local, are finally mobilising to address systemic issues. For Bridge, this has meant increased funding and the removal of long-standing barriers to growth, from planning constraints to chronic austerity.
Of course, opportunity brings complexity. We’re building new residential developments and navigating new acquisition processes, expanding our internal capacity, securing long-term investment partnerships, and navigating the intricacies of PPP contracts. We’re designing governance structures to protect Bridge’s integrity while delivering value for money for governments and ensuring that our new housing remains social and affordable for generations to come. The Bridge team has embraced these challenges with dedication and resolve.
Learning, Integrating, Evolving
Bridge is a complex organisation spanning crisis response, tenancy support for people with complex needs, and long-term landlord relationships with tenants, some of whom have been with Bridge for nearly 40 years. My first six months were spent absorbing everything I could: the differences and similarities with other social systems; the unique community-building expertise; and yes, the endless acronyms.
Taking lessons from across my career, from mental health and drug and alcohol services to aged care, retirement living, and disability, there are innovative ideas we can borrow from other
sectors to help community housing grow and mature. And there are hard-won lessons we must heed to avoid repeating past mistakes.
Eva, one of early my mental health crisis team clients once said to me ‘The only thing you can do to help me right now, is find me somewhere to stay tonight. After that we can talk about all the other things…’. A safe, secure home is the basis on which all other support can be built.
Looking Ahead
Bridge is a remarkable organisation where our values are lived daily from front-line staff to the Board table. One year in, I have found my place and I’m energised by what lies ahead, for Bridge, our tenants, our team, and the broader community housing sector.
Laurie Leigh
Bridge CEO
* ‘Alfie’ has been used to protect the privacy of our tenant