Community Organising 

Community Organising is about returning power to people. It prioritises personal relationships, membership of institutions rooted within the community and a pragmatic approach to influencing people who hold power in government, business or public life – Citizens UK 

JRS Australia is committed to community organising as a practice of building relationships and capacities for action in diverse local communities, and as a means for engaging decision-makers on the rights and dignities of forcibly displaced peoples in Australia. 

JRS Australia works closely with dioceses, parishes, schools, unions, universities, other faith groups, and charities in geographies across NSW to a.) raise awareness in these communities b.) build capacity for direct action in support of forcibly displaced people through food drives, fundraisers, volunteering, and job creation activities, and c.) to engage their local, state, and federal decision-makers on specific policy reform issues. 

In the last two years, JRS Australia has built relationships in more than fifty parishes across metropolitan Sydney, supporting community leaders to host lunches, food drives, community conversations (table talks), speakers at masses, and public meetings. JRS Australia has also supported community leaders to build relationships, organise delegations, and host activities in ten federal and state electorates in New South Wales. 

 A key highlight of 2020 has been the successful co-hosting of four public webinars with Catholic leaders to raise awareness about the impacts of COVID-19 on people seeking asylum, and playing an integral role in the expansion of the mobile Refugee Foodbank. To view these webinars and other COVID-19 related resources, please click here. 

 “This is what I’ve been waiting for, an organised and strategic approach to this issue by getting parish groups in different areas to be on the same page and working towards a common goal.” – Parishioner from SJ Around the Bay engaged in constituent MP delegations

Be part of it.

To take action please click here.