12 years of Joy (Sneeby

12 YEARS OF JOY

When Executive Manager of Social Housing Joy Sneesby first began working at Evolve Housing in 2009, it was on a 3-month secondment from Housing NSW. That temporary stint turned into a 12-year period of service in community housing, with Joy making a significant contribution to both Evolve Housing and the sector.

Joy, who announced her retirement in the 2020–2021 financial year, first joined Evolve Housing as part of a program by Housing NSW to transfer skills and knowledge to the community housing sector, which was expected to grow dramatically.

Her 3-month secondment turned into a 6-month stint, before she was offered the opportunity to stay at Evolve Housing (then known as Affordable Community Housing Limited) permanently. “Leaving behind a 25year career in government, I just knew that community housing was going to be the perfect fit for me. From day one, I have felt valued and to be honest, I have felt that each and every day while being at Evolve; my knowledge, experience and opinions mattered,” Joy said of her experience.

Joy said that moving into community housing felt like “coming home”, and that the sector offers flexibility and creativity in decision-making, and places tenants at the forefront of every decision and policy.

When Joy first joined Evolve Housing, the organisation was much smaller and had less resources. Housing allocations were managed locally using a paper-based system. This began to change in 2010 when Evolve Housing received a large quantity of properties under a stimulus package. To handle the increased portfolio efficiently, Joy worked to build an Applications and Allocations Team, which worked in partnership with Housing NSW to transfer properties and tenants into Evolve Housing management. Around this same time, the Housing Pathways system (the centrally managed NSW social housing waitlist) was introduced, and Joy helped to train her team in using it.

Since Joy began in 2009, Evolve Housing has grown from managing less than 2,000 properties to 4,270 properties, and the organisation’s policies and procedures have developed significantly under Joy’s guidance. “The past 12 years has seen tremendous growth and opportunities across the community sector. Greater structure in reporting and accountability came with the sector growth,” Joy said.

“I walk away from a 12-year career in community housing knowing there is real cohesion across all levels of social housing where government and nongovernment housing are really working together to deliver great person-centred outcomes such as the Together Home program.” “As I head into retirement, I would like to thank every applicant that I have sat beside, every tenant that I have walked beside and every team member that I have worked beside.”

TEAM WORK

Over her time at Evolve Housing, Joy has made close connections with a number of residents, including Margaret, who she appears on the front cover of this Report with. Margaret has been volunteering with our Friendship Aged Network (FAN) program for 10 years, calling senior residents each week to offer a friendly chat and information on support services. Joy and Margaret have built up a friendship over the years due to their contributions to Evolve Housing programs and shared interest in helping tenants.

“I WALK AWAY FROM A CAREER IN COMMUNITY HOUSING KNOWING

THERE IS REAL COHESION ACROSS

ALL LEVELS OF SOCIAL HOUSING…”

Photo: Joy Sneesby, Evolve Housing staff