In this edition of Just News we're celebrating recent successes for two Jesuit Social Services programs, inviting you to attend the online launch of the Dropping off the Edge report into place-based disadvantage, and sharing why one program participant is bringing members of her community to (happy) tears.

CEO Julie Edwards has gone on leave to visit family in Thailand, with Sally Parnell acting as CEO in Julie's absence. Read about Julie's plans in her CEO's email of 23 September and last week's reminder.

ICT Manager Trent McDonald has told staff about a cybersecurity training course we'll undertake each week for the next eight weeks. He wrote to staff about the training on 20 October, and the second short training video appeared in our inboxes on Monday.

Save the date for the launch of Dropping off the Edge 2021 — our research into complex and entrenched place-based disadvantage. The 2021 report, which will be launched online, is the fifth report in a series spanning 20 years of research. Learn more about Dropping off the Edge at your invitation here.

And if you missed it in Just News 121, Julie recently wrote to say that vaccination against COVID-19 would be a requirement for certain staff members, in line with government mandates, as an essential measure to protect our health and safety. Guidelines are outlined in the COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccination Policy, which can be found on Gemba. Contact your General Manager with feedback or questions.

Artful Dodgers raises $6000 in online concert

The Artful Dodgers Studios has hosted a successful online benefit that raised nearly $6000 and featured a lineup of stars including Paul Kelly and Vika and Linda Bull performing with Studios participants.

Acting Artful Dodgers Studios coordinator Danielle Sherry said the online concert was a way to engage with the Studios' spirit while raising much-needed funds to support its art and music programs for young people facing tough circumstances. 

“The Studios is a way for our participants to reconnect with the community. That’s why it’s so important. When the physical place was removed from us, during lockdown, we had to think about the ways we can still connect. For some people, the Dodgers is their connection to the world."

Nearly 200 attendees watched performances from Studios participants, including musician Elijah Augustine (pictured above), who you can learn more about here. Congratulations to Artful Dodgers Studios for hosting such a successful event.

Ecological Justice Hub is a sustainability finalist 

Sustainability Victoria has recognised the Ecological Justice Hub as a industry leader finalist in the social and economic justice category of this year's prestigious Premier's Sustainability Awards. Congratulations!

When COVID-19 hit, the Hub moved swiftly to recalibrate its operations to meet community need — scaling up its meal drop program to provide fresh produce, cooked meals, and essential groceries to community members in need. 

We spoke to the Hub’s Senior Project Advisor, Michael McGarvie, for our spring newsletter. He told us the meal drop program helped conquer isolation and build new ways of connecting.  

“We’ve learned that being visible, open and welcoming are some of the most important elements of our outreach and linkages with the local community.”

The Premier's Sustainability Awards winners will be announced on 23 November. Good luck to the Hub and all finalists.

Birty's perseverance pays off

Hard work, self-belief, and a lot of push-ups: that's what our participant Birty needed to pass the Victoria Police entrance exams.

Birty, pictured above, gained entry to the Victoria Police Academy to train as a police officer after completing the 15-week-long Victoria Police Diversity Recruitment Program. The program aims to reflect the cultural diversity of the Victorian community in the force by supporting African-Australians to progress through the Victoria Police recruitment process.

Birty is the first known female Ethiopian officer on the force, having graduated from the Academy in early 2021. She now works in Melbourne's west, where she told us she can sometimes be the first police officer her community sees who looks like them.

“I attended a job and the lady we visited started crying saying ‘I’ve never seen a police officer who looks like me’. It was really emotional for me and it made me feel so good.”

We're pleased to introduce a new, regular section to Just News: an update from our Business Support Services team, which looks after the back-end processes that are essential to Jesuit Social Services' operations. Key updates in this edition include progress against our ICT Roadmap, a new facility in Dandenong, and several new starters (including a familiar face!).

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Roadmap is aimed at improving our ICT processes and infrastructure, to ensure we have secure and contemporary tools to do our work. Current activities under the Roadmap include email migration and cyber security measures, including penetration testing and Multi-Factor Authentication. Look out for emails from Trent and the IT team on these changes as they happen. The ICT Roadmap will be rolled out over the next 18 months. 

The operations team will this week start overseeing the new fit-out at 2/54 McCrae Street, Dandenong — the space adjacent to our existing office space. We're fitting out this space to include new training rooms, storage, and a kitchenette/breakout area. Work is scheduled to be completed by Christmas.

And we’re very pleased to welcome some new team members: Yuliana Rodriguez to the Human Resources team (you may already know Yuliana from her work with the Corporate Diversity team); Richard Onanjiri, our newest management accountant; and welcome back Navneetha Anil from maternity leave. Support After Suicide has also recently welcomed 14 new volunteers. Welcome, and welcome back!

Craig Frean, who leads our Back on Track program in Katherine, took part in Xavier Social Justice Network's annual Daring to Be Different event, which engages the Xavier College community with issues of social justice. This year focused on the over-incarceration of First Nations people – Craig spoke to Back on Track's restorative focus on re-engaging young people in trouble with education, family and culture, as an alternative to imprisonment. You can view Craig's 12-minute-long presentation from 19:44 in this video.

And staying with our expertise in criminal justice, Helen Coventry from our ReConnect program will be a panelist at a Productivity Commission webinar into the cost of prisons on 12 November. Helen will speak to our work supporting people transitioning from prison back to community, and discuss what an effective and human justice system could look like – including community-based alternatives to prison that balance accountability with providing new pathways. Learn more and RSVP here.

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