Our stories Archives - Jesuit Social Services

"My career is head work and volunteer work is heart work" - how Lucy's volunteer role is helping young people to thrive
- 20 August 2024
With two decades of volunteering experience under her belt, Lucy Losinno was looking for a new way to help in 2020 when she came across the Community Connections Mentoring program, and decided to give Jesuit Social Services a call. Hear how her support is helping her participant to "live her dream."
Growing skills and relationships in the garden.
- 12 June 2024
“I have grown as a person over the last 15 months, and I know doing this has helped me gain a lot of knowledge, not just about gardening but about myself,” says Jim*. Jesuit Community College, in partnership with the Department of Justice and Community Safety, runs the program to support men who are in…
How conversation helped Billy reflect on harm caused.
- 11 June 2024
"It was like a wake-up call for me that I had to change, I needed to stop doing bad stuff and concentrate on my future,” said Billy*. He had taken part in Jesuit Social Services’ Youth Justice Group Conference program. The process encouraged him to take responsibility and to make amends for his offending.
"I've been building a desk for my house, it's really cool".
- 9 June 2024
Christian* is a student at the Ignatius Learning Centre. For the first time in his life, he now looks forward to school every day. “I didn’t like any teachers at my old school, but I don’t mind some of the teachers here, so that’s good and it’s cool. They know how to approach kids, it’s…
How dialogue helped Billy reflect on harm caused
- 8 January 2024
16-year-old Billy* did the wrong thing under the influence of drugs and older peers, but took responsibility for his actions through our Youth Justice Group Conferencing program. Billy is a 16-year-old boy born in the Northern Territory who moved to Darwin several years ago with with his step-uncle. He had recently started to drink and…
Justice-involved teens encouraged to self-express through art gallery visit
- 16 March 2023
How a visit to the National Gallery of Victoria encouraged justice-involved students at our Ignatius Learning Centre to delve into their creativity and self-expression.
City trip builds confidence and connection for school-disengaged teens
- 10 March 2023
See how disengaged learners had a rare school excursion experience thanks to our Navigator program and its school holiday city trip.
Setting a better path for a teen in trouble
- 5 December 2022
When a 14-year-old boy named Luke broke into Dave Hammond’s house and stole his car, he could have faced a punitive response simply designed to punish a young person for their actions with little consideration of the circumstances that led to their behaviour. But on this occasion things were different. Dave – who was previously…
A unique relationship puts Corey on the path to reach his potential
- 5 December 2022
For young people who’ve spent time in out-of-home care, building trusting relationships with adults can take time. Jesuit Social Services’ Community Connections Mentoring program matches these young people with a volunteer mentor to help them transition into adulthood. Corey, a young person who received mentoring through the program, says his mentor Sean has supported him…
Worth A Second Chance podcast returns
- 10 September 2022
In the first episode of our relaunched podcast, Liana Buchanan – the principal commissioner at the Commission for Children and Young People in Victoria – discusses her office’s role in scrutinising conditions inside detention facilities, the harm caused by ‘tough-on-crime’ media narratives and some of the effective practices within Victoria’s justice system she wants to…