Discover what's happening around Jesuit Social Services. No images? Click here Welcome to another edition of Just News, and for those of us who work on Wurundjeri country – where this newsletter is written – welcome to Poorneet (tadpole) season, where the grey clouds shift, the kingfishers return from the north, and the currawongs call. Today, we have days and nights of equal length, and a packed Just News: read on for a new website update, ACOSS' annual survey, what we're doing for the National Week of Prayer and Action, the launch of our new Stop It Now! helpline, and more. ![]() Our latest CEO Comms is here! In Julie Edwards' temporary absence we have an update from Acting CEO Sally Parnell, who steps us through a recent trip to the Northern Territory, meetings with new MPs, an exciting funding announcement for The Men's Project, and our regular staff welcomes and farewells. Sally also emailed us on Monday with a reminder to please complete our Staff Survey this week. The survey is an important opportunity to share your thoughts about working at Jesuit Social Services, and is conducted by an external agency named BPA Analytics. Thank you to the 142-odd staff who have filled in this survey – check your emails for your personal link to join them. And a reminder from Just News 143 we have some new cyber security measures in place to protect ourselves from malicious attacks. Be aware of two new initiatives:
![]() UPDATE | Our redeveloped website launches this month!![]() Development of the new Jesuit Social Services website has gathered a lot of momentum over the past few weeks. We've recently moved into a new and exciting phase of the project, with a test version currently with managers and teams for bug fixing and content review. We're on schedule for launch towards the end of September. Thanks to everyone who has participated in reviewing the website and sent through changes over the past few days. The Communications team will be sleeves-up over the coming weeks, responding to the feedback to ready the site for launch. Once the website is live, we'll continue to refine and iterate on the site, so will welcome your feedback! Once the website is launched, we'll call out for staff to get involved in a Website Implementation Working Group, to ensure that all teams continue to have a voice in the new website. Lastly, there will be a Lunchtime Learning session in late September, where you will be able to find out more about the new website. Stay tuned for details! ![]() NEWS | Stop It Now! helpline launchesOur new child sexual abuse prevention program, Stop It Now! launched its anonymous helpline on 1 September! The phone line and instant chat service is staffed by skilled practitioners who speak with people worried about their own, or someone else's, sexual thoughts, feelings and behaviour towards children – working to prevent child sexual abuse. We learnt about the established international Stop It Now! model in our May Lunchtime Learning, where we heard from Stop It Now! manager Georgia Naldrett and The Men's Project executive director Matt Tyler about our work with the University of Melbourne, professionals, and victim-survivors towards launching this innovative service. Jesuit Social Services released our Stop It Now! scoping study in August 2019. From a policy perspective, the 2017 report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse identified a gap in preventative interventions for potential perpetrators. And in 2021, the National Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Strategy highlighted Stop It Now! as a potential model for their funding commitment for an offender prevention service. This pilot is in line with our ethos to not shy away from the difficult and complex work that's needed to build a just society where all people can live to their full potential. ![]() UPDATE | National Week of Prayer and Action 2022Our CAPSA campaign is once again hosting a National Week of Prayer and Action, to encourage and assist the Australian Catholic community to take action and stand in solidarity with people seeking asylum. The week runs from 25 September, which is World Migrant and Refugee Sunday, to 30 September, and calls on the community to use our voice, hearts, resources and time to engage in actions we can take now, that will help build the future we want: an Australia that welcomes people seeking asylum and treats them with humanity and compassion. Register now for the CAPSA in Conversation webinar on 27 September, and visit CAPSA's website to learn more about how we can support people seeking asylum in our own communities, and take practical steps to advocate for issues affecting the lives and futures of people seeking asylum and refugees. ![]() HAVE YOUR SAY | ACOSS' annual community sector surveyOur peak national community sector body, ACOSS, has opened its annual survey, and they want to hear from you! The Australian Community Sector Survey is the longest-running survey of the community sector, conducted by and for the sector and communities we serve. Our contributions as workers help ACOSS advocate for a better deal for our sector, building a rich picture of the priorities, demands, pressures and opportunities facing us. The survey is open until 23 September, takes 10-15 minutes to finish, and completing it offers both the opportunity to win one of five $100 Coles Myer vouchers and the chance to contribute to shaping and sustaining our sector's future. ![]() Preceda training is on again!A drop-in training session for Preceda is being held via Zoom between 10-11am on Thursday, 15 September. Preceda is Jesuit Social Services’ payroll and employee self-service platform. This drop-in session is aimed at helping you navigate this system, including an opportunity to troubleshoot any issues you may be experiencing. Individual times will be allocated to participants so that the session can be guided to your needs when using Preceda. This may include how to:
To register for the training: gain approval from your supervisor, email JSS Staff Training and cc your supervisor. The Learning & Practice Development Unit will then register you for the training, and the BSS team will send you an allocated time to join the session. Funding Submission GuidelinesOur Funding Submission Guidelines have recently been updated with the end of June data. This document is on Gemba and very useful when making a funding submission. ![]() Welcome back to our regular Ecological Justice update, which appears in every second edition of Just News. Here, we share stories of community members’ lived experience of extreme weather and heatwaves in the City of Darebin, a win for energy and accessibility standards in Australia, and an upcoming multi-faith Day of Action on climate change. Lived experience of heatwaves in Darebin, MelbourneJesuit Social Services’ Centre for Just Places recently completed a project which set out to hear what people in the City of Darebin in the northern suburbs of Melbourne need from Council to stay safe and well during extreme weather, to inform the City of Darebin’s adaptation programs and their next Climate Emergency Strategy. Given Darebin is among the areas in Greater Melbourne with the highest levels of vulnerability to heat, many of our conversations centred on experiences of heatwaves. We spoke to community members made more vulnerable to climate change by intersecting experiences of marginalisation, hearing how heat traps people in their homes, contributing to sedentary lifestyles and social isolation, and putting older people and those with chronic health conditions at risk. Renters told us they were hesitant to ask landlords to improve energy efficiency in their homes, fearing rent increases. But we also heard positive stories of local organisations stepping up to meet people’s needs during extreme weather, and learned about the diverse strategies people use to keep themselves cool. Read our latest blog to learn about Darebin residents’ lived experience of heatwaves and extreme weather. Safer, more comfortable and accessible homes under a changing climateThe Darebin project is an example of how ecological justice is not only about our relationship to the ‘more-than-human’ world, but also about our built environment and the right for everyone to live in safe, comfortable and accessible housing under a changing climate. Recently, building ministers across the country agreed to raise minimum energy standards in new homes from a six-star to seven-star standard – meaning improvements such as better insulation, higher quality glazing, and smarter floor plans. It is the first change to standards in 10 years, and a win for advocates across a range of sectors who have been campaigning for higher energy and accessibility standards – including Jesuit Social Services. Multi-faith network to send a united message to GovernmentThe Australian Religious Response to Climate Change is organising a Day of Action on climate change in solidarity with Pacific and Australian First Nations peoples on Thursday 13 October – urging the Australian Government to stop approvals for new gas and coal projects and end public subsidies for fossil fuel industries. Multi-faith services will be held in cathedrals across Australia and the Pacific. Learn more and get involved here. ![]() Ahead of the Federal Government’s landmark Jobs and Skills Summit on 1 and 2 September, we issued a media release arguing a coordinated approach to supporting marginalised people into work is critical in creating a fairer Australia for current and future generations, to ensure no one is left behind. Have you listened to the relaunched Worth A Second Chance podcast yet? Every second Wednesday, Worth A Second Chance campaign coordinator (and Just News scribe!) Sophie Raynor speaks with practitioners and experts working on the frontlines of Australia's youth justice systems, to uncover the true stories, challenges and solutions in building a more effective and compassionate youth justice system. Find episodes in your podcast app, or visit Worth A Second Chance's blog to hear and read full episodes. And a final reminder for National Week of Prayer and Action – CathNews has publicised the event, and here's that link again to register for the CAPSA in Conversation webinar. ![]() “At Jesuit Social Services we name with young people that you're valued as a human. And what we'd like to see is [you having] have belief in yourself, and knowing that we believe in you. The relational model of the Our Way of Working framework is really pertinent to building respectful and trusting relationships. And for a lot of young people we've supported in the housing programs, you can see behaviours that are exhibited or manifested [as] not being familiar with someone actually showing genuine care about their wellbeing and their welfare. You're trying to show them a different experience."— Jesuit Social Services' Manager – Housing Programs, Kane Apelu, episode 4 of the Worth a Second Chance podcast ![]() ![]() If you've got an update or story to tell, or want to share your feedback, we're happy to hear from you. Use the buttons below to share your thoughts. |