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For many people, it is already hard enough to juggle work responsibilities, childcare and life’s numerous engagements. But lacking access to adequate public transportation tips the scales. For this reason, members of the Willmot Community Hub organised a ‘Transport Forum’ to advocate for improved bus routes, more school buses, an expansion of the Community Transport Program and an increased investment in public transport for the suburbs that sit within the 2770 Mount Druitt postcode.
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Climate emergency and prisons don’t mix
On a 38-degree December day in the middle of the desert, 15 people incarcerated at Alice Springs Correctional Centre used t-shirts and pedestal fans to rip a hole in a ceiling, in a desperate attempt to escape the stifling heat of their overcrowded cells. The incident reignited calls to air-condition the prison – one recommendation of the Northern Territory Ombudsman, and firmly in step with the Territory’s human rights obligations to people deprived of their liberty.
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A reflection on the times by Father Andy Hamilton SJ
These have been hard days in a hard world, haven’t they? ...
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The Australian Government is developing a National Housing and Homelessness Plan – a 10-year strategy to inform future housing policy in Australia and the first long-term strategy since 1992. Jesuit Social Services recently contributed a submission to the Plan calling for an increase in social housing – with a focus on public housing – and urging the Government to raise the rate of income support and related payments, among other reforms.
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The role of neighbourhood houses in a changing climate
Jesuit Social Services’ Centre for Just Places worked with a network of neighbourhood houses in Darebin to create a climate action and resilience plan in 2022. Inspired by this process, the Centre co-designed a framework with the Darebin network which can be used to guide strategic action planning and advocacy for networks of neighbourhood houses across the country. No similar framework currently exists for neighbourhood house networks. Below are some of our reflections from this work.
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An ‘open-door’, place-based approach for First Nations people
Recently, Jesuit Social Services’ Centre for Just Places, our hub for place-based action, research and advocacy, was commissioned by the Victorian government to investigate what makes some place-based approaches so effective. Our team, alongside partners RMIT University, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and the University of Queensland, explored existing literature and practice, publishing a research report and case studies across the state, including the Latrobe Valley Authority.