Our thinking Archives - Page 4 of 33 - Jesuit Social Services

National Reconciliation Week - Reconciliation must be first made with reality
- 24 May 2021
Ahead of Sorry Day (May 26) and National Reconciliation Week (May 27 – June 3), ANDY HAMILTON SJ writes that reconciliation begins by recognising the human reality of the relationships between Indigenous people and non-indigenous Australians and the history of those relationships. National Reconciliation Week this year marks the 20th anniversary of Reconciliation Australia and…
Building a Just Society
- 25 March 2021
Back in 1977, Jesuit Social Services was born (as Four Flats) to respond to a real and important need. It was apparent that young men were exiting prison into homelessness with little support and no prospects of a job. A quote by then Pentridge Prison Chaplain, Fr John Brosnan, became a guiding principle for our…
Closing the Gap
- 18 March 2021
Closing the gap in Indigenous inequality and health outcomes should be directed by the choices and needs of Indigenous Australians, not by the economic and political considerations of government, writes ANDY HAMILTON SJ. Close the Gap Day is a sobering occasion each year. It records the gap between promises and actions, between aspiration and outcome.…
NAIDOC Week 2020
- 5 November 2020
NAIDOC Week (November 8 – 15) is about more than a demand for respect, it is about making a more just and decent Australia in which all people can be proud of the society they have built, writes ANDY HAMILTON SJ. This year, the theme of the National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC)…
National Week of Solidarity 2020
- 7 September 2020
International Women's Day 2020
- 6 March 2020
Sunday, March 8 is International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality. To mark the day, we share two inspiring stories of the women we work with across our program areas. Akee’s sense of freedom Like…
A 'beautiful insight' into social justice
- 9 April 2019
Xavier College student DOMINIC BEECH reflects on the profound impact of meeting participants from our Settlement Program during his Christian Service placement with Jesuit Social Services. A week with Jesuit Social Services gave me a beautiful insight into the work being done in our community. Until now, I hadn’t had much, if any, first-hand experience…
Migrant and Refugee Sunday invites us to extend our compassion beyond our own suburb, city and nation
- 26 August 2018
World Migrant and Refugee Sunday (August 26) invites us to extend our compassion beyond our own suburb, city and nation, and reminds us that the plight of refugees and immigrants is worldwide, writes ANDY HAMILTON SJ. World Migrant and Refugee Sunday is celebrated by Catholics around the world. It invites us to extend our compassion beyond…
Refugee Week - finding a home in Australia does not heal all the wounds of people’s past
- 16 June 2018
This Refugee Week (June 17 to 23), ANDY HAMILTON SJ writes that for vulnerable people who arrive in Australia as refugees, finding a new home does not heal all the wounds of people’s past. Refugee Week this year invites us to raise our eyes briefly from the barbarity of Manus Island and Nauru to take a…
Sharing stories to influence change
- 30 January 2018
When Rashid (not his real name), a participant of Jesuit Social Services’ settlement programs, was offered the opportunity to travel to Canberra to meet with a number of federal MPs late last year he took it with both hands. Representatives from Jesuit Social Services and the Refugee Council of Australia meeting Julian Hill MP in…