Our stories

Building a just society means elevating everyone by supporting all people to reach their full potential. Every success story is crucial because none of us can flourish, until we all do.

Serious fun helping kids connect after loss
- 9 April 2025
It’s a Wednesday morning in the school holidays. Some children are playing together in a school hall. It could be any regular school holiday program. Yet something more, something serious, brings these children together. They have all lost a parent to suicide. This is Support After Suicide’s program tailored to children: Serious Fun.
A place to call home leads young people away from crime
- 8 April 2025
Home should be a place where you feel safe and secure. While many of us might take that for granted, not all young people moving into Jesuit Social Services’ Perry House have had that experience.
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…
Jesuit Social Services and ICON Construction are partnering to promote respect and inclusion in the construction industry
- 11 March 2025
Jesuit Social Services has joined forces with ICON Construction to drive cultural change in the construction sector, fostering workplaces where respect and inclusion are the norm.
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.
To have my boy back is beyond words
- 19 January 2025
Hear how our Maribyrnong Community Residential Facility is supporting men exiting prison to move on from their offending and rebuild their lives.
Our justice work described as “credit worthy and unique” by global expert
- 18 January 2025
In November, we hosted renowned international criminal justice systems expert Dr Baz Dreisinger for a day. Baz founded the Prison-to-College Pipeline program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, and as Executive Director of Incarceration Nations Network she investigates how justice can be done differently around the world. Baz has written books,…
Tailored support enables ReConnect participants to flourish
- 16 January 2025
As Father Brosnan once said, “Three things that I have noted are needed by someone leaving prison are: a place to live that is decent, a job they can handle, and friendship.” Our ReConnect program echoes this wisdom by providing the comprehensive support that enables participants to flourish. It provides up to nine months assistance…
Loyola College continues to show love “more in deeds than in words”
- 16 January 2025
“Love is shown more in deeds than words” is a timeless Ignatian principle and lies at the heart of Loyola College. For nearly 45 years, Loyola College has nurtured students not only academically but also in their journey toward becoming people of empathy, integrity and action. Named in honour of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the…