In 2025, Braemar Charitable Trust enabled housing support worker Moses Simpson through the CELF Waikato Elevate Leadership Programme. CELF (Community & Enterprise Leadership Foundation) is a unique organisation that works with business and community leaders to grow socially responsible leaders to transform our region for the better.

It’s fair to say Moses Simpson ticks all the boxes on the ‘socially responsible’ criteria checklist. With a master’s degree in psychology, Moses has been working with youth and vulnerable communities for most of his working life and is passionate about helping young people who are homeless into stable housing.

Moses is Team Leader – Transitional Housing at Twenty20, a sustainable housing trust that provides housing and housing support for adults and rangatahi (young people). There, he supports a team of case managers who help rangatahi find work, engage in education, and find long-term housing. It was his work in this role that motivated him to apply for the CELF leadership programme.

“I found myself reaching a point in my leadership journey where I needed to invest in myself and upskill to become a better leader. I had also heard great things from others who had done the programme, so I applied and was accepted pending a funder being found,” says Moses.

Each year, CELF hand picks participants for the Elevate Leadership Programme to ensure there is equal and significant impact to the community and enterprise sectors and participants are provided a collaborative learning environment to connect with like-minded leaders and develop the tools, insights and networks needed to drive meaningful change.

Moses was able to access funding from Braemar Charitable Trust via CELF, which he received due to his investment in his community and desire to see rangatahi succeed.

Empowerment, self-determination and autonomy

Moses’ personal goal is to empower rangatahi to live their own best lives through self-determination and that they have the choice and autonomy to dictate what that looks like for themselves. Being able to do that, he says, begins with stable housing.

Twenty20 has a transitional housing site in Hamilton and thanks to its strong partnerships with local iwi and other service providers they’ve been able to help more than 100 young people into housing or with whānau in 2025 alone.

“We believe housing is a human right and if we aren’t part of the solution, we’re part of the problem.

“I often explain to people that we are all one missed paycheck or one or two unfortunate choices away from being in the same shoes as my clients and that often they’ve been dealt a ‘bad hand’ in life and are just trying to make the best choice they can out of a series of bad options.”

Twenty20 operates on a ‘housing first for youth’ approach, where the first and most important thing for young people is the roof over their head; they can’t address the issues that have contributed to their homelessness until they have somewhere safe to stay.

“Once they’re in our service, we work with them to get ID, enrol with a doctor, re-engage with study, find work, and, of course, find housing. We’ve found that by addressing these barriers, our young people are more likely to get housed and more likely to remain housed when they do get a house,” says Moses.

Lasting friendships and collaboration

Having now completed the CELF leadership programme, Moses says he found huge benefit in the connections he made with his cohort.

“It was a phenomenal experience. Beyond all the site visits and amazing teaching sessions were the strong friendships made with everyone else. We had many great conversations which have sparked several partnerships and projects between our organisations.” This includes an initiative where residents of Twenty20’s transitional housing site receive health checks and vaccinations through Pinnacle Health.

Moses says he’s already putting his learnings into practice. “I am more resilient and confident in my leadership and decision-making, as well as more present for my staff. My advice to anyone considering doing CELF is prepare to be challenged as well as strengthened and supported, because when you are part of CELF, you join a massive group of alumni across the Waikato business community.”

Braemar Charitable Trust Manager Paula Baker says part of the Trust’s charitable purpose is to enable education and knowledge-building in areas that impact community health.

“Moses’ commitment to sustainable housing for rangatahi highlights how health outcomes are influenced when our basic needs are met – including safe, health and affordable housing.

“Congratulations to Moses for completing this significant programme and I look forward to seeing what he achieves in the future.”