Hello, and welcome to another edition of Just News. In this edition, we're launching Dropping off the Edge, reflecting on how climate change worsens the refugee crisis, and reminding Victorian staff about vaccine requirements and our upcoming Sorry Day event.

Acting CEO Sally Parnell wrote to all staff recently in relation to COVID-19 vaccination requirements. Read Sally's email and its attachment to see requirements for staff in Victoria, the Northern Territory, and New South Wales, and contact your general manager with any questions.

And for staff in Victoria, our annual Sorry Day event has been rescheduled and will take place on 23 November at Brunswick's BLAK DOT Gallery. The event will feature a fantastic lineup of First Nations talent, including singer-songwriters Aaron B and Olivia Meg, rapper Little G, violinist Maya Moo, MC Taylor, and interviewer Aretha Brown — we're grateful to Paulie, Rosie, and the teams from Artful Dodgers Studios and the Brosnan Centre for organising this event to mark this important occasion. Victorian staff can RSVP to Sorry Day by emailing staff.training@jss.org.au.

You're invited: Dropping off the Edge 2021 

Jesuit Social Services is launching Dropping off the Edge 2021, the fifth edition of our ground-breaking research into place-based disadvantage, online this Thursday, 18 November.

The event will be moderated by our CEO Julie Edwards, and feature Professor Robert Tanton (University of Canberra), Professor Ross Homel (Griffith University), Susie Maloney (Executive Director of Jesuit Social Services’ Centre for Just Places) and Chandelle Mallitt (Supervisor, Willmot Community Kitchen) and community members from Western Sydney. Julie will provide an overview of the report’s findings, and host a panel discussion on how the report can support advocacy and policy development to address place-based disadvantage.

Dropping off the Edge 2021 is the fifth report in a series spanning 20 years of research. Learn more about Dropping off the Edge at your invitation here.

Federal MP visits Ecological Justice Hub

We were thrilled to welcome Peter Khalil, the federal member for the Melbourne electorate of Wills, to our Ecological Justice Hub in Brunswick last week.

Mr Khalil visited to congratulate the Hub for being nominated as a finalist in the Premier’s Sustainability Award, as an industry leader in the category of social and economic justice, as we wrote about in Just News 122.

Mr Khalil said food relief programs like the Hub’s are more important than ever, as volunteers continued to work hard to ensure the most disadvantaged and isolated members of our communities are nourished, supported, and connected.

Helping vaccinate Western Sydney

New South Wales this week reached the important 90 per cent COVID-19 fully vaccinated milestone — and some of those vaccines were administered at our very own vaccination hub in Mount Druitt.

Monique Perusco, who manages social and community services with Jesuit Social Services’ Western Sydney team, said her team knew the trust we had in the community could help residents protect themselves against the virus.

“When we heard that NSW Health was focusing on reaching vulnerable communities, we knew that Jesuit Social Services could play a key role. We approached the Premier’s department and negotiated with NSW Health to establish the vaccine hub, and we are working with local service providers to receive referrals for eligible community members to book their vaccine."

The vaccine clinic is open one day per week and can administer up to 100 vaccines, prioritising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members. Pictured above is Jesuit Social Services' staff member Rosemary receiving a vaccine.

Raise the Age: AGs' proposal to raise age of criminal responsibility to 12

Late last Friday, the meeting of each state and territory attorney-general agreed to develop a proposal to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 years old. 

Jesuit Social Services has been campaigning to raise the age of criminal responsibility since our report Thinking Outside: Alternatives to remand for children, published in 2013.

While we're glad to see this topic on the attorneys-generals' agenda, we are deeply disappointed by both the minimum age suggested, and by the lack of clarity about how the agreement to develop a proposal will work to support young people in trouble. This agreement appears to be little more than a plan to make a plan, at an undetermined point in the future.

Medical and expert evidence is clear that 14 is the absolute youngest age that should be considered as an age of criminal responsibility. We will continue to advocate for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised to 14, in line with international standards, and for this change to occur as soon as possible, to reduce the harm on children, their families and communities. 

In Just News 122 we introduced a new, recurring section: an update from our Business Support Services team, which looks after the back-end processes that are essential to Jesuit Social Services' operations. In this edition, we have an important update on accessing emails, and welcome back Vy Nguyen from maternity leave.

Information Communications and Technology

The long-awaited email migration has begun! The first group of staff have already successfully migrated our mailboxes to Office 365. We'll be migrating staff in small groups — keep an eye out over the coming months for an email from IT Connexion when it's your turn. The email to look out for will have the subject line 'From the IT HelpDesk - JSS Email Migration to Office 365.' IT Connexion are here to help, and you won't be migrating your mailbox alone.

Finance

A warm welcome back to our management accountant Vy Nguyen, who returned this week from maternity leave.

Kate Wadsworth from our Corporate Diversity team was interviewed on ABC Radio Melbourne's Drive program this week about some of the barriers experienced by the jobseekers we work with. You can listen to her interview at 2:14:00 in this program.

The Men's Project's MoRE program, which supports people to engage, educate and empower men and boys in the community to promote positive masculinity, was featured this week in this Mirage News story. Applications for this program open in December, and you can RSVP to our launch event with Stonnington City Council here.

And our Jesuit Social Services blog has posted two thoughtful pieces recently — one, a joint piece from our Centre for Just Places and CAPSA campaign on the need for a strong response to climate change-induced displacement of people in response to the COP26 climate conference; and two, an article by the Centre's Jack Piper on how we're building climate resilience in the community sector.

For those interested in what was achieved at COP26, and what this means for Australia and the Pacific Islands, the Australian National University is hosting a free webinar on Thursday 18 November titled 'Post-COP — what happened, and where to from here?'

"Climate-induced displacement and migration affects communities globally, but disproportionately the world’s most vulnerable. While many people are forcibly displaced across international borders to seek safety from the effects of climate change, the majority are displaced within their own countries. Thirty million people were internally displaced by climate-induced disasters in 2020; three times more than those displaced by conflict and violence."

— Centre for Just Places and CAPSA, 'Climate-induced displacement and COP26: an urgent issue of ecological justice'

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.