Victoria Parker is CEO of Queensland’s longest-running charity, The Lady Musgrave Trust, which provides safe and supportive housing to young women and their children.
While Victoria’s relationship with YFS goes back many years, it’s a new project in Logan which has recently brought the organisations working closely together to develop a supportive housing model for young parents that can be scaled and replicated in other communities.
“We wanted to demonstrate the power of building a for-purpose housing development that provides high-quality support on site,” says Victoria. “And we wanted to demonstrate that with the combination of those two things we can interrupt disadvantage and prevent it for the next generation.”
“The nucleus of this partnership was a conversation I had with then CEO of YFS Cath Bartolo and Judith Hunter – both amazing women I’ve worked with over many years and have a deep respect for.”
“We [The Lady Musgrave Trust] have a small portfolio of properties across Queensland but nothing in Logan. So I met with Cath and Judith, and we agreed The Lady Musgrave Trust would pull together the housing and YFS the wrap-around support – it would be a powerful catalyst for the community.”
Following this conversation, Victoria reached out to a property developer who agreed to donate a block of land and to the Property Industry Foundation who brought together the construction and development sector to work pro bono to design the housing development.
“We had an amazing architect, project manager, town planners, engineers, and surveyors all on board as consultants, donating their time and skills. And YFS invited their Young Parent Influencers to guide the consultant team on what both the design and delivery was going to look like, to make sure it was what was needed.”
Shortly afterwards, a construction company agreed to build the development at cost and by June 2024, The Lady Musgrave Trust’s fundraising efforts and a significant contribution from the Queensland Government via the Housing Investment Fund meant construction could commence.
In March 2025, Jinndii Waijung (meaning Mother’s Nest in Yugambeh language) will open its doors as a purpose-built housing complex for young mums and their children. The complex includes four self-contained apartments with communal spaces and high-quality coaching, mentoring, and group programs delivered onsite.
Victoria saw firsthand how powerful the design process was, where young women with lived experience worked alongside the consultant group every step of the way.
“It was transformative for both parties. Michael Rayner from Bight Rayner – our very experienced and nationally recognised architect – said that by getting to know some of these young mums and learning about their experiences it has literally changed his view on the purpose of architecture and his role within this space.”
“And likewise, one of the Young Parent Influencers said this project has been a turning point in her life, identifying some of her own power and voice and how she can contribute to her community.”
The project was also designed to deepen policy makers’ understanding about what works for young families and to create an evidence base for larger-scale projects.
Victoria says that partnering with a place-based organisation like YFS, which has deep roots in the community and strong relationships with other support services, is vital to ensuring fragmented delivery is reduced, that tenants can receive the exact supports they need, and that the program is successful.
“YFS – their methodology and delivery system are backed by their commitment to identifying and measuring outcomes, which is quite rare. They genuinely prioritise always improving their practise and are so generous with sharing their knowledge.”
“When I introduce anyone to YFS, I literally introduce them as one of the best community organisations in Australia.”
For Victoria, the satisfaction of providing homes for young women and their children through her role at The Lady Musgrave Trust is deeply rewarding.
“I think it’s the best job in the world because I’m part of a solution to an issue that so many young women and children experience through no fault of their own. And the solution has life-changing outcomes and they can be intergenerational.”
“But interestingly, I only recently had the epiphany that I am here standing up for young women and children and single mums and I was the daughter of a single mum and I was a single mum myself for eight years of my son’s life.”
“I guess there’s a part of me, when I took the role, that identifies with the experiences of being a single mother and that’s cognizant of the power of opportunity and the power of enabling choice and decision-making.”
