Welcome to another edition of Just News and welcome back to staff who took holidays over Christmas and New Year. We hope your breaks were festive, safe, and relaxing. Just News 126 welcomes us back with a focus on reflection, an ecological justice update, and stories from two programs that emerged stronger after lockdowns.

Victorian staff are once again wearing masks indoors in the workplace to keep us and our participants protected against COVID-19. Acting CEO Sally Parnell wrote to staff with a short mask update on 23 December 2021 — here's the Victorian Government's coronavirus website, which has all the information you need to know.

You might remember CEO Julie Edwards last year established a regular morning reflection. The 30-minute online gatherings provide an opportunity for staff to start the day with a gentle, contemplative reflection, based on an Ignatian process. The reflection begins with a focus on the body and breath, a reflective quote, and concludes with quiet and stillness. Staff who have attended describe the experience as calming, energising, grounding, and joyful. These morning reflections will continue to be held occasionally in 2022, and anyone is welcome to join. Each session will be advertised in an all-staff email, and if you want to learn more, you can contact Claire Thomas.

And it was wonderful to see so many staff and volunteers join us for our final all-staff day of 2021, which was held online on 15 December. It was fantastic to hear from so many different programs and spend time with each other, as we reflected on a big and busy year. Congratulations to everyone involved in organising the day.

Finding focus during Melbourne's lockdowns

When COVID-19 forced many of our programs into remote or outdoor delivery, we adapted the way we worked. For Connexions, which supports young people with concurrent mental health and substance misuse problems, the time spent outside wasn’t just a way to get by – it allowed us to introduce a new way of working.

One Connexions practitioner, Naomi, found that the outdoor setting soothed her participant Grace's* anxiety, finding focus and mindfulness that helped her engage. For our summer fundraising newsletter, we spoke to Naomi about this work, and how the team plans to incorporate outdoor therapies into its work in the future.

“It had a profound impact. Going from a state where it was difficult to understand what she was saying, to being able to really actively engaged in conversation. It was amazing.”

Support After Suicide's first year in NSW

Support After Suicide has completed its first year of supporting bereaved families in New South Wales, building on the program's 15 years of support in Victoria. 

The program's first New South Wales manager, John Merrick, comes to Jesuit Social Services with 38 years of experience in bereavement counselling. We spoke to him for our summer fundraising newsletter, where he shared about the program's plans to expand to one-on-one and group counselling in 2022. 

“Next year, we’re looking forward to being able to start holding group sessions and we hope to offer these sessions both online and in-person. Ultimately, we’re trying to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people as best we can.”

Years-end reflections from Andy Hamilton SJ

You'll likely be familiar with the writing of Andy Hamilton SJ, a longtime staff member of Jesuit Social Services. Andy has written a thoughtful reflection for our blog, to guide us as we enter the new year.

We do not come to the new year with assurance that things will be as they were before, writes Andy — yet we have a new opportunity to reflect on what we'll take with us from 2021 and who we might be in 2022.

Read the piece here, and find more of Andy's writing at our website.

Welcome back to our regular Ecological Justice update, which alternates with our Business Support Services team in this section of Just News. In this edition, we've got updates on how you can get involved with this work, and a call to share your ideas.

A new strategy for ecological justice

At our recent all-staff day Jack Piper (Ecological Justice Support Officer) shared a snapshot of the exciting developments in our ecological justice work over 2021, including a new Ecological Strategy which will be shared with all staff very soon.

Early in 2022 there will be opportunities for you to engage with our ecological justice work under the three domains (1. Ecological Business Practices, 2. Human Spirit, 3. Practice Ecology). We’ll share a short survey on how you get to and from work to help Jesuit Social Services measure our carbon footprint, as well as resources to guide staff in discovering more about the places we work from a First Nations perspective.

Sharing your thoughts

If you have ideas about how we can encourage sustainable habits and reduce our carbon emissions, we'd love to hear from you. Contact Jack Piper, Ecological Justice Project Officer on 0429 268 904 or at jack.piper@jss.org.au.

Mirage News has published an article on our Modelling Respect and Equality program, run by The Men's Project, and its partnership with the City of Whittlesea, in Melbourne's north. The council area experiences high rates of domestic violence, and has invested $50,000 in the program, which builds role models for boys and men who will challenge the behaviours often associated with gender inequality. 

And media coverage for our Dropping off the Edge 2021 report continues to come in, particularly with local newspapers. Read about the challenges faced by communities in the Murray Valley and Maryborough — and learn how local services are responding.

"We know that entrenched behaviours and attitudes to gender equality contributes significantly to gender-based violence. This program will help leaders in our community to build the skills needed to create change, particularly among boys and men."

— Lydia Wilson, Chair Administrator, City of Whittlesea, Mirage News

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.