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How dialogue helped Billy reflect on harm caused
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…
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School work that’s out of the box
Ignatius Learning Centre students wrap their hands before boxing class. Teacher Nick Porter describes this as a “beautiful moment”. “It is a calming place – a time to clear their heads and set goals for the session.“
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Art classes ‘helped me to feel pride in my culture’
At our Willmot Community Hub in Western Sydney, up to a dozen Indigenous men have been gathering. Here, they paint canvases and Indigenous artifacts, and talk about their lives. Delander Hayes, an Indigenous woman and coordinator of Jesuit Social Services’ Western Sydney programs, describes the classes as, “a therapeutic space – kind, soft and gentle”.…
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Connecting with someone who gets what it’s like
“When I was bereaved by suicide, I was not just grieving the loss of a friend but grieving for all LGBTQIA+ people who face a transphobic and homophobic world each day,” says Immy Money, Project Officer at our new Support After Suicide Hub (SASH). “I was realising just how many in our community are suicide…
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Helping Donna and Shayne make ‘a contribution beyond our caring’
Donna and Shayne’s fulltime role as carers to Jasmine saw them nominated for the lived experience reference group for Western Metro Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect – our recently launched resource and support hub for carers of those experiencing mental health or substance misuse issues. Donna and Shayne’s 23-year-old daughter, Jasmine, has autism and associated…
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Jesuit Social Services gets the ‘Rainbow Tick’
Jesuit Social Services staff member, Alex Fraser, is one of several team members who led the organisation towards Rainbow Tick accreditation over the last four years. The organisation set up a Rainbow Tick advisory group made up of interested staff from across the organisation, started a newsletter sharing LGBTIQA+ resources, began intentionally marking key dates –…
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Nine Yarra neighbourhood houses join forces to strengthen local climate resilience
Nine Yarra neighbourhood houses gathered this week to launch a plan to reduce their environmental footprint and support the local community to adapt to climate change.
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Volunteering at Ignite Café ‘a privilege’ for Chee Ming
Chee Ming was food shopping at Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market when she stumbled on an employment-help stall staffed by Jesuit Social Services. After hearing about her interest in hospitality, Jesuit Social Services connected Chee Ming to Ignite Café, our social enterprise café where people experiencing barriers to employment and training can come to build skills and…
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New job puts Behnaz’s analytical mind to good use
Behnaz* is a qualified engineer but hadn’t secured a role in the industry since her previous role as an academic back in 2015. Originally from Iran, Behnaz came to Australia seeking asylum and has struggled to feel accepted in society. Behnaz’s JVES mentor, Gillian, says, “there seemed to be a real cultural resistance to integrating…
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JVES makes a "dream come true" for Biruk
After over 30 unsuccessful job applications and no luck with a Job Active service, Biruk* was losing hope and thought of giving up his dreams of working as an electrician. Eventually, friends recommended that he connect with Jesuit Social Services’ Jobs Victoria Employment Service program, which assisted him with his resume, job search training, and…