Dr Gregory P Smith OAM, is the CEO of Home Address Australia (HAA). HAA is a new not-for-profit representing the voices of lived experience in the vulnerable spaces leading to homelessness and at risk of homelessness. It is independent of governments and of the homelessness sector.
Dr Smith has lived experience/expertise in child abuse, out-of-home care, juvenal Justice, substance abuse/addiction, homelessness, poverty and successful life-planning and management.
He is a consultant to governments, health departments and not-for-profits on the importance of involving lived experience and expertise in policy and program development.
As a co-Chair for the End Street Sleeping Collaboration, which began as a New South Wales Premiers Priority Project in 2019, Dr Smith is a leader in the fight for ongoing policy changes. He has also been a global consultant for the Institute of Relational Health for CareSource, Blue Dot and Family Finding in the USA. He is an international speaker and has spoken extensively on causes and pathways to homelessness. In Australia, he has been engaged to address CEOs on issues of corporate trust.
He is the Patron for Signal Flare in Queensland and several not-for-profit organisations addressing some of the needs of the more vulnerable across several states in Australia. He is a co-founder of Voiceup Australia which provides a safe space for people traumatised as children to speak their truth.
In 2018, Dr Smith wrote the best seller ‘Out of the forest’ which was followed by a second book ‘Better than Happiness: The True Antidote to Discontent,’ in 2023. Both books were published by Penguin Random House.
Dr Smith enjoys spreading his message of hope through his keynote speaking engagements and as a panel guest, at home and overseas. His 2020 TEDx talk, ‘Forest hermit to Professor, It’s never too late to change’, has had over one million views.
Today, Gregory lives in Orange, NSW, with his fiancé Catherine, their family and a mixed breed of clucky chickens.
Click here to watch Dr Gregory Smith’s Tedx Talk “Forest hermit to Professor, it’s never too late to change.”
