Discover what's happening around Jesuit Social Services. No images? Click here Hello again, and welcome to another edition of Just News. We've handed over a 65,000-signature-strong petition to Victorian MP Fiona Patten, spoken to The Age and SBS about climate and youth justice policy failures, and gathered to celebrate Wear It Purple Day – an occasion to celebrate and support rainbow young people. Enjoy the edition. ![]() We have some new cyber security measures in place to protect ourselves from malicious attacks. Please be aware of two new initiatives:
![]() STORY | Maribyrnong success shows potential of rehabilitative justice‘Without your help, I’d be back in jail by now.’ It’s a comment staff at our unique post-prison housing program have heard multiple times over the past two years. The Maribyrnong Community Residential Facility, in Melbourne’s western suburbs, provides temporary accommodation and wraparound support to men leaving prison who would otherwise be homeless – a circumstance experienced by half of Victoria’s prison population, and a factor that can see people return to custody shortly after release. For our winter fundraising newsletter, we spoke with our Adult Justice Programs Manager, Suzi James-Nevell (third from left with members of her team, pictured above), about the persistent need for housing and how this facility makes a real difference. ![]() UPDATE | Raise The Age petition handoverMore than 65,000 Victorians have signed a petition in support of raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years. Jesuit Social Services was pleased to join some of our sector partners in delivering the petition to state MP Fiona Patten (above, centre) on the steps of Parliament two weeks ago. Ms Patten took the petition immediately into Question Time, where she handed it to Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes. By raising the age of criminal responsibility and keeping children out of prison, we can ensure more children have the opportunity to reach their potential and lead healthy and fulfilling lives. Learn more and get involved with this advocacy at our youth justice campaign Worth A Second Chance. ![]() NEWS | Celebrating Wear It Purple DayJesuit Social Services staff gathered online last week to celebrate Wear It Purple Day – an occasion to foster supportive, safe, empowering and inclusive environments for rainbow young people. We watched a video sharing a young woman named Margot's experience of coming out as transgender, and reflected on the role we all play in creating a safe, respectful and welcoming community for LGBTIQA+ young people. Jesuit Social Services is committed to ensuring all young people have the support they need to thrive. We're currently undergoing accreditation as a Rainbow Tick organisation, and are working hard to meet stringent requirements in our policies, operations, staffing and culture to demonstrate we're a safe, inclusive and affirming services and employer for the LGBTIQA+ community. We believe all rainbow young people deserve to be loved, included, safe and respected – on Wear It Purple Day, and every day. ![]() Human ResourcesAttention those who recruit! We're now using Elmo, which replaces the Authority to Recruit form. If you're still using that form, please delete it, and follow the Elmo use instructions on Gemba instead. If anything's unclear, the Human Resources team is here to help. If you want to recruit for a brand-new position, you'll need to complete the 8.6.5g New Position Form. This form includes instructions on how to complete it and to send it to payroll@jss.org.au. QualityIn the lead up to re-accreditation (early next year!) it's a good time to talk about the Continuous Quality Improvement cycle. This model shows the steps we take for the ongoing improvement of services or processes, and it's likely you already do this. It has many names: Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) wheel/cycle/circle, Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA), and the Deming Cycle, to name a few. It is used for large-scale projects such as developing a new program, or on a small-scale activity, like reviewing a procedure. Click the table below to expand examples and familiarise yourself with this important aspect of strengthening our work. ![]() ![]() Susie Moloney, who leads our Centre for Just Places, has told a Planning Institute of Australia panel climate change is already affecting us in inequitable ways, and flagged we lack an integrated approach for dealing with heat, which is the leading killer of people above any other natural hazard. Our CEO Julie Edwards spoke to SBS News Radio about why an effective youth justice system must have a focus on the health and wellbeing of vulnerable children. And we've written in response to the Victorian Government's newly released Youth Strategy, which is a five-year framework aimed at improving outcomes for young people. Read our blogs on the need for tailored employment and training support for disadvantaged job-seekers, and the need for a holistic, whole-of-government approach to support young people leaving out-of-home care, who are involved with the justice system, or who face complex mental health challenges. ![]() “We think that the system overall is designed in such a way that's not conducive to young people's needs nor to creating a safe community for everyone. There are some key directions we think need to be taken in order to reform the system. What we'd like to see is prevention, early intervention strategies: when a young person does touch the criminal justice system, stronger diversion programs and support for them and their families to keep them out of the system."— Julie Edwards to SBS 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. |