Jesuit Social Services

Jesuit Social Services is a social change organisation working to build a just society where all people can live to their full potential. For almost 50 years we have been accompanying and working with people and communities who are excluded and isolated, and who often experience multiple and complex challenges. 

As an organisation, we do and we influence.  We accompany people and communities to foster and regenerate the web of relationships that sustain us all – across people, place and planet; and we work to change policies, practices, ideas and values that perpetuate inequality, prejudice and exclusion.  

We work where the need is greatest and where we have the capacity, experience and skills to make the most difference.  We are a national organisation with a significant footprint in Victoria, New South Wales and the Northern Territory, where we work with some of the most marginalised individuals and communities. We have international reach through involvement in the Jesuit Prison Network. 

Our practical support and advocacy cover eight main areas:

• Justice and reconciliation: we work to keep people out of prison and help them to get their lives back on track. We also work to ensure that people leaving prison can successfully transition back into the community. 
• Disability, mental health and wellbeing: we assist people to reduce harm to themselves and others, establish healthy social connections, and engage in their community. 
• Community and Connection: we work with communities we are invited into, building connections with people seeking asylum, newly arrived migrants, First Nations people, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.  
• Housing and support: feeling safe, confident and comfortable at home is a crucial aspect of supporting every person to become their best self. 
• Education, training and employment: Not everybody has the same access to education or employment opportunities. We support people who have had limited access to learn, study and work.
• Gender justice – The Men’s Project: The Men’s Project supports boys and men to live respectful, accountable and fulfilling lives. 
• Just Places: partnering with communities across Australia, the Centre for Just Places supports place-based approaches to social and ecological justice. For us, pursuing ecological justice means acknowledging and working within the interconnected web of relationships between people, place and planet. 
• Policy, research and advocacy: the inequities in our society are layered and complex. Research and advocacy help us all to understand, empathise, and act – from community members to the Commonwealth Government. 

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