Dropping off the Edge
Dropping off the Edge 2021 shows clearly that complex and entrenched disadvantage is experienced by a small but persistent number of locations in each state and territory across Australia.
As a society we cannot, and should not, turn away from the challenge of persistent and entrenched locational disadvantage, no matter how difficult it may be to solve the problem.
We hold hope that the young people and future generations in these communities will have a better outlook and life opportunities than is currently available to them.
It is our belief that every Australian should have access to the opportunities in life that will enable them to flourish – to complete their education, to get a job, to access safe and affordable housing, to raise their children in safe communities and to see the next generation thrive.
Place-based work
The Centre is working with a range of cross-sectoral stakeholders to support and enable place-based approaches to social and ecological justice, and building on Jesuit Social Services’ long term place-based work in Western Sydney and the Northern Territory.
Amplifying lived experience
People who come into contact with the social, health and justice services have important knowledge about the system’s ability to meet their needs. Embedding the voices of lived experience in service design, integration and delivery can improve outcomes for people accessing these services.
Lived experience voice and workforce project (2021-2023)
Funded by Department of Justice and Community Safety, Victorian Government
This project
The Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS) engaged the Centre for Just Places to provide guidance and support for two leadership teams – Local Site Executive Committees – to develop processes to embed the voice of lived experience in practice across the social, health and justice service sector to contribute to Better Connected Care policy reform and improve client centred outcomes.
The project implemented a systemic inquiry process to increase understanding of current system conditions that impact on lived experience participation. This enabled local leadership teams to develop shared objectives and agree on the approach to include lived experience voice for better and more connected care across departments and agencies.
The impact
The project worked to increase understanding of what is needed to sustainably centre lived experience voices in place-based collaboration and provided recommendations for policy reform.
Contact General Manager, Kate Lowsby, at [email protected] to discuss this project.
TARGET ZER0 Community Asset Mapping
The TARGET ZER0 Community Asset Mapping project is being undertaken by the Centre for Just Places in partnership with the TARGET ZER0 initiative partners (Westjustice and Centre for Multicultural Youth). The project is designed to support the initiatives’ work to reduce youth criminalisation and over-representation in the justice system by identifying unique community resources and strengths that support young people in the Brimbank, Melton and Wyndham local government areas.
About the project
TARGET ZER0 is a 10-year collective impact project aimed at ending the criminalisation of 10-25 year olds and over-representation in the justice system of First Nations young people, multicultural young people, and young people in residential care in Brimbank, Melton and Wyndham.
As a Coalition partner, Jesuit Social Services’ Centre for Just Places will be leading a Community Asset Mapping process to strengthen knowledge of the assets and strengths that exist for children and young people in the municipalities where TARGET ZER0 works.
Rather than simply mapping what services are available, the process seeks to understand the breadth and distribution of existing community assets, the connections between them, and where there may be opportunities to strengthen collaboration and collective action.
By developing a strengths-based picture of existing community assets across Brimbank, Melton and Wyndham, this work will build knowledge to support a shift away from deficit-based approaches and duplication, towards more coordinated action that recognises and builds on local capabilities, relationships and community leadership. The mapping will provide a shared evidence base to help TARGET ZER0’s Coalition to identify opportunities to connect with existing assets, strengthen local systems of support, and direct effort and investment towards areas of opportunity and unmet need.
What we’re doing
The Centre for Just Places is working alongside TARGET ZER0 Coalition to:
- Establish a shared definition of ‘community assets’ that support children and young people in the Brimbank, Melton and Wyndham areas.
- Build an evidence-informed picture of the assets already present in Brimbank, Melton & Wyndham, with particular attention to affected and impacted communities that are overrepresented by the criminal justice system.
- Support a strengths-based understanding of the Brimbank, Melton and Wyndham area to challenge deficit narratives that stigmatise the area and its children and young people.
Why this work matters
Communities in Melbourne’s west are experiencing high levels of unmet need across education, justice, health and family support systems – factors that can contribute to increased risk of young people being impacted by the criminal justice system. At the same time, the west has significant community strengths, capabilities, relationships and organisations working to support young people and their families.
However, knowledge of these assets is often fragmented. Multiple organisations may undertake their own mapping or hold partial knowledge of local services, community groups, places, networks and capabilities. This can make it difficult to see the full picture of what exists, how assets are connected, where strengths can be built upon, where gaps remain, and where demand exceeds available support.
A community asset mapping approach provides a shared, strengths-based picture of the local ecosystem. It can help reduce duplication, strengthen connections between organisations and community assets, and support more coordinated action. Importantly, it shifts the focus from what communities lack to also recognising their strengths and building on their capabilities, relationships and resources that already exist locally.
Project period: 2026-2027
Location: Brimbank, Melton and Wyndham
Funding: TARGET ZER0
For more information on TARGET ZER0 Community Asset Mapping project, contact:
Thea Hewitt, Senior Research Officer, Centre for Just Places at [email protected].