Our mission
Right now, communities are inviting us to partner and develop new methods to enable change. The systemic challenges embedded in places where many people live can be dismantled even though they are deep and persistent. We move with people and communities to discover new solutions through decades of research and practice wisdom, community strengths and partnerships.
Why it matters
Through our research, advocacy and place-based work, the Centre is uniquely placed to unlock the relationship between social, environmental and economic justice. We do this through three main areas of work: working in place, supporting strong, healthy and equitable communities, and enabling climate justice.
What We Do
Supporting strong, healthy and equitable communities
Building on more than 25 years of research into locational disadvantage with Dropping off the Edge, we work with communities to know where people are struggling, to understand what is contributing to that struggle and how we can collectively enable communities to flourish.
Dropping off the Edge (2021)
Jesuit Social Services’ Dropping off the Edge research identifies areas of disadvantage in every Australian state and territory and uncovers the web of factors that must be solved for these communities, and our nation, to thrive. Dropping off the Edge 2021 measures 37 indicators across seven domains of social wellbeing, health, community safety, economic, education, environmental and intergenerational outcomes.
What works for place-based approaches? Research report and case studies
Place-based approaches are an innovative way to address disadvantage and inequity, strengthen resilience to crises in place, and build thriving and resilient communities. In 2021-22, the Centre led a consortium of research partners examining literature, evidence and practice to understand what features enable the success of place-based approaches and how to best support them – information essential to improving the wellbeing of Victorian communities into the future.
Collaborative Action Plan for climate justice in Melbourne’s west
This Collaborative Action Plan is the result of a year-long project to articulate a shared vision for climate justice in Melbourne’s west. The Plan builds on the diverse contributions of individuals and organisations already working at the interface of climate change, health and social justice in Melbourne’s west, and seeks to further understand the localised and systemic drivers of climate vulnerabilities for community health and service organisations in Melbourne’s west.
