Our thinking Archives - Page 28 of 31 - Jesuit Social Services

Every human being matters: celebrating World Day of Social Justice
- 19 February 2017
This year, the World Day of Social Justice is being celebrated in the wake of public anxiety about the justice system. In Melbourne, a man on bail killed and injured many people by driving at them on a city footpath. This followed a series of violent crimes, including carjackings, store robberies and bashings in which…
Values series part 1: Andy Hamilton on being welcoming
- 14 February 2017
This year we celebrate our fortieth anniversary at Jesuit Social Services. We have been reflecting on the key words that sum up our mission: welcoming, courageous, discerning. Like most words that name ideals, they are attractive. But, of course, when we ask whether they describe how we are living, the words are also very challenging.…
Forty years: a chance to reflect – message from CEO, Julie Edwards
- 1 February 2017
This year marks 40 years since Jesuit Social Services helped its first young people in 1977. Since then, we have grown to support over 5,000 people through more than 20 different programs nationally, including in Melbourne, Western Sydney, central Australia and Darwin. Jesuit Social Services’ 40th anniversary is an exciting milestone in our history and…
10 Things You Didn't Know About Jesuit Social Services
- 1 February 2017
As Jesuit Social Services celebrates its 40th anniversary, share in these 10 facts about our organisation. Some might surprise you! 1. We’re social enterprise pioneers. While social enterprise has been a popular model in recent years, Jesuit Social Services started working in the training and employment space in 1984 when we provided direct employment opportunities…
Improving mental health services benefits the whole community
- 3 January 2017
We must ensure mental health services give people the help they need before they reach the acute end of the criminal justice system, writes our CEO, JULIE EDWARDS. Almost one in five Australians will experience a mental illness over any 12-month period. One particularly vulnerable group is people who come into contact with the justice…
Known unknowns - youth justice
- 30 November 2016
On Wednesday 16 November Jesuit Social Services CEO Julie Edwards joined host Jon Faine on ABC 774 to discuss youth justice as part of his ‘Known Unknowns’ series. Listen below to what Julie has to say about the challenge of dealing with a small number of young people committing frequent and serious crimes while overall…
Dehumanising human services
- 9 November 2016
Across Australian jurisdictions the trend towards marketisation continues apace. Examples of this can be seen many areas of government from ports to poles and wires. So perhaps unsurprisingly we’ve now reached a point in which the one area where you might reasonably least expect the market to go – human services – it is now…
Year of mercy
- 3 November 2016
To conclude the year of mercy Pope Francis will celebrate two special Masses: one for prisoners and the other for the homeless. Just as the year of mercy took us into the Pope’s vision of the church and the world, so these two Masses show what is dearest to him. Prisoners turn up everywhere in…
'Naming and shaming' young offenders would only further marginalise
- 28 October 2016
There has been growing attention given to issues of youth crime, with talk of ‘thugs’ and youth gangs widespread in the media. As a tough on crime response to these issues, the Victorian Opposition recently proposed the introduction of reforms which relate to the naming and shaming of young offenders. These proposed reforms would include…
There's room at the table for the poor ... if we make it
- 17 October 2016
One of the most misused passages of Christian scripture tells us we shall always have the poor with us. That is a statement of fact, often repeated by those who are not poor in order to dismiss any project that involves public expenditure or private generosity to people who are poor. In practice they mean…

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