Have a Jesuit Social Services staff member present at your school
Jesuit Social Services has a long history of leadership in the social sector. Our staff can present to your school community about any of our focus areas:
Sharing over 45 years of knowledge and expertise.
For over 45 years, we’ve worked to build a just society where all people can reach their full potential. We’ve accompanied participants as they face some of the most challenging moments of their lives, bearing witness to their strength, resilience, and resourcefulness.
Through it all, we’ve developed a deep knowledge of the web of factors marginalising and disadvantaging people, and the change needed to reduce inequity and help people and communities thrive. Our presenters – both Jesuit Social Services staff and speakers with lived experience – draw on their expertise and personal stories across a range of social justice topics to challenge and inspire audiences of all ages.
For 45 years we have supported people in contact with the criminal justice system, or those at risk of being so. As our work has expanded, so too have the opportunities to support people at a range of stages in their lives so they can engage with education, find work, have stable housing, connect with culture, and be on a pathway to inclusion, not marginalisation.
Find out more about our work in Justice and Reconciliation
Not everybody has the same access to education, training and employment opportunities – often because of circumstances beyond their control. Our education, training and employment programs help people who have had limited access to learn, study and work reach their potential by equipping them with the fundamental skills and pathways they need.
Find out more about our work in Education, Training and Employment
Our Disability, Mental Health and Wellbeing programs assist people through challenging periods of their lives, to strengthen and deepen their relationships to others and to community, and to assist them to live to their full potential. Our programs address severe and enduring mental illness, misuse of alcohol and other drugs, homelessness, and bereavement following suicide.
Find out more about our work in Disability, Mental Health and Wellbeing
We work with communities we are invited into, strengthening the web of relationships that surround and sustain people. Our support enables people and communities to build capacity and self-determination – to have agency over their lives and the resilience to overcome personal and systemic challenges.
Find out more about our work in Community and Connection
Our gender and culture work supports boys and men to live respectful, accountable and fulfilling lives free from violence and other harmful behaviour. The Men’s Project leads prevention initiatives and interventions that address these complex challenges, improving boys’ and men’s wellbeing and keeping families and communities safe.
Find out more about our work in Gender Justice and The Men’s Project work in schools
Communities and individuals already experiencing social and economic disadvantage often also face environmental challenges, which must be addressed through an ecological justice lens – recognising all elements are interrelated. Our ecological justice work repairs relationships with self, with community and with the earth.
Find out more about our work towards Just Places
Our policy submissions, campaigns, events, media and storytelling contribute to changing policies, practices, ideas and values that perpetuate inequality, prejudice and exclusion – and enable governments to implement effective and humane policies and practices so that all members of our community can flourish.
Find out more about our work Building communities of justice
The Men’s Project
The Men’s Project offer evidence-based programs challenge harmful norms about gender in order to improve wellbeing, behaviour and safety.
- Workshops For students, staff, parents and school leaders/SRCs. Our workshops introduce participants to the pressures boys and men can feel to behave a certain way, the impacts of these pressures, and how to move away from harmful attitudes and behaviours. Versions of these workshops have been developed for each year level, and we also provide workshops for school staff and parents.
- The ‘Man Box’: This workshop introduces participants to research on the pressures boys and men feel to behave a certain way, and the impact this has on health, behaviour, and life outcomes. This workshop also brings awareness to habits and language that perpetuate harmful gender stereotypes, and supports participants to begin to notice how gender stereotypes affect their own lives.
- Healthier alternatives to the ‘Man Box’: Participants in this workshop will learn about healthier alternatives to the ‘Man Box’. Participants are given tips and strategies to help them move away from the rigidity and harms of the ‘Man Box’ by basing their attitudes on their personal values rather than societal pressures to act a certain way.
- Taking action in the ‘moments that matter’: The goal of this workshop is to give people the skills and confidence they need to be positive role models. It supports them to speak up effectively and safely when they witness harmful ‘Man Box’ attitudes and behaviours, and offers practical tips and strategies to respond during ‘moments that matter’.
- Leading change (120 mins): This workshop provides student leaders with the chance to understand the ‘Man Box’ and the societal pressures that boys and men face through the lens of student leadership. It allows student leaders to reflect on how they can lead change in their school to break free from the ‘Man Box’.
Drew is a presenter for The Men's Project
Just Voices Speakers Program
Our Just Voices speakers deliver empowering sessions to inform and inspire students on social justice issues. Our speakers are from diverse communities and lived experiences – including people with lived experience of being homeless, being engaged in the youth justice system, or fleeing conflict and persecution to find a safer life in Australia. Speakers explore themes such as courage, resilience, empathy, leadership, empowerment, social justice, diversity and cultural awareness. All presentations for schools link to the Australian and Victorian curriculum and can be adapted to suit student age and group size.
Daniel is a presenter in our Just Voices Speakers Program
Jason Lau, Arts Centre, Melbourne
Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum
The Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum (CAPSA) advocates and campaigns for the just and humane treatment of people seeking asylum in Australia. Co-convened by Jesuit Social Services and Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Australia, our alliance seeks to change hearts and minds so that people seeking asylum can find safety and welcome. A pillar of CAPSA’s work is engaging the wider Catholic community, in particular schools and students, in their advocacy, awareness and action in this space. Informed by those with lived experience, CAPSA presentations aim to foster understanding so that schools can take informed action – both as individuals and as a community.
Worth A Second Chance
Worth A Second Chance partners with schools to facilitate reflective and constructive conversations with students about what an effective youth justice system could involve. In small groups, students are encouraged to reflect on moments in their lives where things have been difficult, and identify the people and other supports who made a difference. Students then carry their reflections into a lively and practical discussion on fair and appropriate interventions for young people at risk of becoming involved with the justice system – from early warning signs including disengagement from school, to addressing first and subsequence offences. Students conclude the workshop with a deeper understanding of contemporary issues in Australian youth justice and greater insight into the difficulties and circumstances that contribute to justice involvement.
Fundraise for us
We rely on support from donors to continue our work in building a just society.
Fundraising activities through your school can be a great way for students to actively respond to social issues that may be learnt about in the classroom.
Key skills such as project management, speaking and listening, literacy and numeracy can be developed through well planned fundraising activities. We can help you with this. Fundraising activities may come in many forms, including ticketed events, walkathon/readathons, peer-to-peer events which seek sponsorship to complete an activity, casual clothes days and market stalls.
Through fundraising, students experience what it means to work with others to actively contribute to their community. When framed through a “justice” rather than “charity” lens, fundraising can empower students to understand their role in contributing to the web of interconnected relationships that sustain us all.
Your school might also like to consider holding parent events such as fundraising dinners or speaker presentations. Whatever your idea, we can support you with resources and advice. Get in touch with the team at fundraising@jss.org.au
You might also like to make a straight donation to support our work. You can do this via our secure online donation page.
Contact us
For more information or to discuss your needs, please contact us on 03 9421 7600, by email at jss@jss.org.au, or by completing the enquiry form below.