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Welcome to Jesuit Social Services |
Jesuit Social Services works to build a just society by advocating for social change and promoting the health and wellbeing of disadvantaged young people, families and communities.
Our vision
Building a just society
Our mission
Standing in solidarity with those in need
Expressing a faith that promotes justice
Our values
• Welcoming – forming strong, faithful relationships
• Discerning – being strategic about how we can have the greatest impact
• Courageous – standing up boldly to effect change. Building relationships is the heart of our work.
In all our services our goal is to enable people to connect with others so they can take an active part in the community. Only when people form relationships can they come to trust again. When they trust, they may imagine new possibilities and pursue them.
We don’t give up on people.
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ANNUAL
FUNDRAISING DINNER
Saturday 20th March 2010
NOTE CHANGE OF VENUE
The Grand Ballroom, Sofitel Hotel
Call 03) 9427 7388 to book!
Guest Speaker
The Hon
Julia Gillard MP
Deputy Prime Minister
delivering the inaugural
Frank Costigan QC address
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Just Cycle
Yarra Valley
Sunday 11th April 2010
Rochford Wines Yarra Valley
JUST CYCLE YARRA VALLEY AMBASSADORS
Drew Ginn and Brian Rabinowitz
 
• 45km NAB recreational ride highlighting the picturesque
Yarra Valley
• 120km Nemisis Challenge
featuring Mount Donna Buang
• Live concert and entertainment for the whole family
• Fundraise for Jesuit Social Services
www.justcycle.com.au
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 Voices of Hope:
The Catholic Church in a secular world
This year's Jesuit Lenten Series will explore the role of the Catholic Church in an increasingly secular society. Titled 'Voices of Hope: The Catholic Church in a secular world', the series will include podcast interviews with Catholics engaging with the secular world in various sectors, as well as a special breakfast talk featuring Bishop Greg O'Kelly SJ.
The launch will be held on 4th March 2010, Kooyong Tennis Club, 489 Glenferrie Road, Kooyong, from 7.15 am for a 7.30am start. The breakfast will conclude at 8.30am. Tickets cost $40, and bookings can be made by contacting Berny Kirwan on (03) 8862 4020.
For more about the podcast series, go to http://www.jesuitlentenseries.org.au
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The Outdoor Experience
A unique opportunity exists for 16 - 25 year olds males who have or had issues with alcohol and other drugs. TOE programs offers alternative means of tackling difficult life issues and provides opportunities for making sustainable positive changes through a supportive and challenging Bush Adventure experience. Please click here to find out more about the program and how to get involved. Visits to TOE at the Bush Hut and interviews for young people can be arranged at any time by contacting the program on (03) 9855 2633.
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Policy Responses and Speeches |
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When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn? "Lock ‘Em Up" (p1, The Herald Sun 14/1/10) might make good headlines. It might even fool some people into thinking that the Leader of the Opposition's apparent ‘tough on crime' stance will make our streets safer. But it doesn't make good sense. The evidence consistently tells us that tackling the social problems behind crimes is what makes sense. The social problems are real. For example 7% of people in prison have not completed secondary, trade or tertiary education (Statistical Profile of the Victoria Prison system: 2004-05 to 2008 -09, Corrections Victoria p.12) and two thirds of new prisoners in Victoria report that their offences relate to drug use while between 80 - 90% of prisoners on a second or subsequent sentence report problems with drugs.(Victorian Prison Drug Strategy 2002.
If the ‘lock ‘em up' strategy' worked we wouldn't have 1 in 4 prisoners being reconvicted within 3 months of being released from prison. We wouldn't have between 35 - 41 % of prisoners being reimprisoned within 2 years of being released (Australian Institute if Criminology 2008). We wouldn't have to spend millions on extra jails as more and more people are locked away, despite the fact that overall crime has decreased by 25% over the last 9 years in Victoria (Crime Statistics - Victoria Police 2009).
It is ‘time to act' Mr Baillieu. Not with a headline-grabbing, knee jerk reaction but in a way that all the evidence says works - addressing the social problems behind crime. That makes sense.
Christ Was A Refugee Too
(Letters to the Editor, The Australian, 23/12/09)
Finally, a boat load of people who fled a warzone in Sri Lanka have been recognized as refugees entitled to protection from persecution ("Viking Tamils finally reach destination", 21/12, 22/12). Does anyone else see the irony that refugees have again become a political football during the Christmas season? This very week we celebrate the birth of Jesus - not the picture book, sanitised story but the real life version which saw a baby born in an animal shelter, because the good people of the town of Nazareth couldn't find any ‘spare' accommodation where his heavily pregnant mother could give birth. Then, no sooner was he born than he and his family became refugees, fleeing for their lives. Sound familiar?
Julie Edwards
CEO Jesuit Social Services
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 Julie Edwards, CEO, spoke at Caritas in Veritate - Reflections on Pope Benedict's encyclical on Human Development on 19th November 2009.
Photo: Julie Edwards with Archbishop Philip Freier, Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne and Rufus Black, Master of Ormond College
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Letter to the Editor The Age 17 Nov 2009
Jail will do this child no good... Disadvantage sets in early in life and tends to accumulate.
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Leadership: Integrity Across Domains
Speech given by Julie Edwards, Chief Executive Officer on 10th November 2009 at Edmund Rice Educaton Australia.
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Submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission inquiry into African Australians and human rights
Submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission inquiry into African Australians and human rights and social inlcussion issues.
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Protecting the rights of the most disadvantaged
Jesuit Social Services submission to National Human Rights consultation |
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More Policy Papers & Speeches
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