Meet our Project Director, Victoria (Vic) Crockford
Vic Crockford is the Project Director at the Coalition to End Women’s Homelessness.
The Coalition brings together leaders, frontline workers, researchers, and changemakers from across the housing sector and beyond, all united by a shared belief: that every woman deserves a safe place to call home, and that our housing system must work for wāhine.
A long-time advocate for equity and justice, Vic founded the Coalition in early 2023 after seeing a glaring gap in how homelessness was being understood and addressed, with women’s experiences often missing from the data, the discourse, and the decisions that shape policy.
Under her leadership, CEWH released Ngā Ara ki te Kāinga: Understanding Barriers and Solutions to Women’s Homelessness, a groundbreaking report that revealed women make up around half of Aotearoa’s homeless population - this is far higher than the OECD average, and that wāhine Māori face the most entrenched inequities. The report calls for bold, gender-responsive change, grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Vic brings more than 15 years’ experience across Parliament, public and private sector roles, and community organisations. She previously served as Chief Executive of Community Housing Aotearoa and is now also a Director at Heft Communications and Advisory.
Vic is a sought-after speaker and commentator on the intersection of housing, gender, and justice. Her advocacy often centres the voices of older women, survivors of violence, and wāhine Māori - groups who have long been excluded from housing policy yet are disproportionately affected by its failures.
She also holds a number of governance roles, including:
Member of the Queenstown Lakes District Council’s Climate Reference Group
Trustee of the Three Lakes Cultural Trust
Chair of Arts Access Aotearoa
As a person with low vision navigating a changing disability, Vic cares deeply about ensuring better outcomes for disabled people and whānau.
She believes that ending women’s homelessness is not only possible, but essential to building a fairer, more inclusive Aotearoa. Through collaboration, innovation, and a deep respect for Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Vic continues to inspire change and amplify the voices of wāhine who deserve to live with dignity, safety, and hope.
Read some of Vic’s recent blogs here:
Rushed law change risks deepening homelessness crisis for NZ women
Women's Homelessness and Child Poverty in Aotearoa: The Critical Connection
