About Jesuit Social Services

Jesuit Social Services is a ministry of the Australian Jesuits and is based in Melbourne. 

 

Jesuit Social Services seeks to form communities of solidarity with those in need.  As a social service organization committed to promoting the common good, we are founded on the model of service of Jesus in the Christian gospels and on Catholic social teaching.  We believe in the underlying value and dignity of all human life.

 

With more than 120 full-time staff, we provide practical programs of service and are committed to social action, advocacy and research as an expression of that relationship.

 

The major areas of concern to our service programs are the fields of criminal justice, mental health and substance abuse. 

 

We work with individuals, family and disadvantaged communities and have undertaken this task now for thirty years, since our establishment by the Australian Jesuits in 1977.

 

Our research arm, The Ignatius Centre, under the guidance of Father Peter Norden, S.J., has been engaged in the task of mapping disadvantage by postcode in conjunction with Professor Tony Vinson for over ten years.