Supporting vulnerable people through the housing crisis

Paul Tommasini has dedicated over 25 years to addressing homelessness, with 22 years at the helm of inCommunity Inc. During the 2023-2024 financial year, more than 13,000 people accessed at least one of the programs delivered by the organisation, which encompasses inCommunity Connect and the Tenancy Skills Institute.

InCommunity Connect is an expert specialist housing and homelessness service while the Tenancy Skills Institute is the first and only competency-based tenant education program in Australia endorsed by the Real Estate Industry, leading the way in prevention and cross-sector early intervention strategies to solve the issue of homelessness.

Describe your career trajectory and how you got to your current position?

After fulfilling a childhood dream of becoming a photographer, I soon realised I wanted to pursue a career in the ‘helping space’. Born from my lived experience, as some might say, from a misspent youth, I recognised that when young people are part of a maladaptive and negative community, often this is the result of a desire to escape from harm and to belong to something. In many cases, with deep-seated experiences of abuse and trauma, clever people without inspiration can put their skills and efforts in the wrong place.

So, it was from this understanding that I was drawn to work at our organisation’s youth crisis accommodation 25 years ago. There, I saw the value of working with young people in crisis to empower them to create better lives for themselves. At the time, the organisation was experiencing a period of chaos, and a couple of years later, when I was on the verge of leaving, the organisation imploded into a team of two. It was almost a flip of a coin as to who would take the Manager role, and in the end, it was me. So, with no induction or guidance, I was given the keys to an organisation answerable to a board just 7 days from the end of the financial year!

It has been an interesting journey navigating the organisation from this starting point. Coupled with my studies in Youth Work and Human Services, I have undertaken additional education in governance, training and assessment (including a stint teaching youth work at TAFE). I’ve always looked for opportunities in the challenges and I realised early on I had the chance to lead the organisation with a fresh perspective on service delivery.

Ultimately, putting in place the type of approach that I knew could inspire people in crisis and despair. It’s an approach that has guided my leadership as we have expanded our organisation to a team of almost 40 people. Big enough to have an impact but not big enough to lose sight of our mission. In the last 10 years, we’ve had an incredible board led by Chairperson Lynn Mount, who has supported us in making brave and innovative decisions as we seek to address the issue of homelessness. To ultimately make our organisation’s tagline a reality “We Inspire People So That They Believe They Can.”

Take us through a typical day of work for you.

There is no such thing as a typical day for me. I might be chilling in my shorts in the office, catching up on emails. Or leaving home at 3.30 am for the airport to put in a 17 hour day growing our organisation’s reach. With brands such as the Tenancy Skills Institute and one of our latest innovations, the PM Assist App that enables Property Managers to refer struggling tenants to Community Services with ease, it’s important these unique responses to the issue of homelessness are widely recognised and embraced. This keeps me motivated during those long days. Staying connected to practice is less possible with the organisation at its current size; however, working to capitalise on the business development opportunities of our innovations keeps me meaningfully connected to the core purpose of our work.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve encountered in your career, and how did you overcome it?

The biggest challenge I would describe is ‘external factors’. Understanding there will always be external factors that create challenges for us as an organisation is something you have to lean into. Staying authentic to ourselves as an organisation has been the secret to our success when such challenges arise. We will always seek to advocate but without wearing ourselves out. We’re here for the long haul! There is much to do to address the issue of homelessness, and we know the best outcomes result from collaboration. You will often find our organisation working with others in the Community Sector or with the Real Estate Industry. If we’re not involved in something, it’s likely it doesn’t align with our values. Developing the ability to identify quickly when something is or isn’t the right fit for our organisation is a skill I use often. It means you’re not in everything, but what you are contributing to is creating impact, and that is everything to me. Persevering in difficult times takes fortitude, but continuing to look for the opportunity in the challenge will reap the rewards and translate to outcomes for the people we seek to serve: those at risk of or experiencing homelessness. That will always keep me going, and our organisation, too.

If you could go back in time, what piece of advice would you give yourself as you first embarked on your career?

Always remember the people who open doors for you. Likewise, always remember who pretended they weren’t at home when you knocked on the door. Reciprocity in relationships is key. We have incredible champions of our organisation who are continuously opening the door for us and we will always be thankful for their input, advocacy and connection to our mission. This goes for staff too. When a staff member is willing to go the extra mile, it’s important as an organisation to always give back. Importantly, don’t waste time connecting with or helping people who were never there to help you. Find your people and nurture the relationship in a meaningful way. Not only will you build an important working relationship but it will very likely enrich your personal life too.

How do you unwind after work?

I intentionally switch off. Disconnect.
I focus on fun things and living a regular life that is as free from complexities as possible. Spending time with family and friends, motorbiking, four wheel driving, camping. I listen to music and watch Youtube and Tik Tok. I might spend just that little bit too long on Tik Tok!