Our stories Archives - Jesuit Social Services

Jesuit Social Services' 2025 Annual Dinner
- 16 April 2025
On Friday 28 February, Jesuit Social Services welcomed over 210 guests to our Annual Dinner at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. The event brought together representatives from Government, community services, health and education as well as members of the Jesuit community and donors to celebrate our collective efforts over the past year and to look…
All are welcome: Homework Club families gather for Iftar
- 15 April 2025
After more than 20 years working with school-aged students living on or around the Flemington public housing estate, Jesuit Social Services’ Homework Club program has built strong connections with the community surrounding those students.
From community voices to collective power: advocating for a just and liveable Sydney
- 11 April 2025
Staff from Jesuit Social Services’ Centre for Just Places in Western Sydney recently attended the Sydney Alliance Assembly, joining nearly 850 community members in a powerful demonstration of collective action. The event brought together representatives from community organisations, unions, faith groups, and schools to advocate for a fairer Sydney, focusing on critical issues such as…
Break the cycle through connection
- 7 April 2025
Peter Carrodus won’t forget how confronting his first visit to a prison was. “The regimentation, the social isolation, the guards…it was all really quite shocking,” he recalls. That was more than a decade ago, when Peter first volunteered with Jesuit Social Services’ African Visitation and Mentoring Program (AVAMP). Seeing his mentees grow has kept him…
Part-time nurse, full-time mother, lifelong volunteer - Linda's story
- 4 March 2025
Linda Tuuhetoka has devoted over two decades to serving her community through Jesuit Social Services’ Ignite Op Shop, a social enterprise in Emerton, New South Wales, that provides affordable second-hand home goods, clothing, and furniture. While the world around her has changed, Linda’s unwavering commitment to the shop and the people it serves remains constant...
“It turns out it was the missing piece he never knew he needed." How cooking helped Liam* find his way: a sad farewell to our Back on Track program
- 18 February 2025
“With every young person I try and figure out the missing pieces of their puzzle. For Liam*, it was acceptance,” says Keely, a restorative practitioner and case worker working with our soon-to-be-defunded Back on Track program.
"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."
The Western Metro Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect Centre's new garden is demonstrating the importance of connecting with place, with people, and with self
- 22 July 2024
"Even in the depths of winter, here, we are surrounded by flowers," says Stuart Muir Wilson, employee of Jesuit Social Services who has spent the last year cultivating a therapeutic garden space for our new Western Metro Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect Centre in Sunshine, Victoria.
“It just didn't feel like a regular hospitality business, it was something more special.” A final farewell to our beloved Ignite café
- 9 July 2024
“It just didn't feel like a regular hospitality business, it was something more special.” This was the sentiment echoed by employees and customers alike as we recently farewelled our social enterprise Ignite café program in Camberwell, Victoria. Ignite café supported people facing barriers to work or training to build both skills and meaningful connections, helping…
A Week at Willmot Community Hub: Thursday Men's Group
- 12 June 2024
Willmot Community Hub's Thursday Men’s Group is a space for men of all ages to come together over breakfast, coffee, or a game of cards. “These simple interactions and connections with people have helped quiet, insular people become really engaged.