Gary Stevens, National Council of the United States Society of St. Vincent de Paul writes the following report “Embracing (Systemic) Change” based on his experience recent workshop held by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

My hometown professional hockey team, the St. Louis Blues, used to have a coach who spoke about the need for players to be open to new ideas and “embrace change.” I recently got a look at Vincentians getting together to discuss new ideas and embrace systemic change.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) held two systemic change workshops in Philadelphia and Los Angeles this month. The workshops were designed to “train the trainers,” so attendees could help their fellow Vincentians plan and implement systemic change projects within their Council or Conference.

I attended the workshop in Philadelphia and was moved to see dozens of Vincentians (along with a representative from The Salvation Army) attend the workshops to learn about systemic change. The 12 and 13-hour days of the workshop went by quickly. They were filled with dynamic speakers, thought-provoking videos, animated roundtable discussions and an enlightening poverty simulation.

The simulation exercise was designed to provide insight into what life is like for those living in poverty. Small groups of people, working as family units, had to survive for a month in poverty. That exercise helped us gain an appreciation and better understanding of the hardships those in poverty face on a daily basis. One of insights that I gained was that it is hard for many people in poverty to move out of it when they are constantly dealing with one crisis after another (living in the “tyranny of the moment”).

Frederic Ozanam, founder of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, explained the idea of systemic change when he stated, “You must not be content with tiding the poor over the poverty crisis; you must study their condition and the injustices which brought about such poverty with the aim of a long term improvement.” The workshop, discussions and exercises provided an excellent base for understanding the causes of poverty as well as ideas to help the poor develop plans to improve their lives.

After these workshops, more SVdP Councils and Conferences will now be ready to join the 60 Councils and their Conferences already implementing systemic change projects as a way to end poverty, one person, one neighborhood, one community at a time.

For those wanting to embrace systemic change (or learn more about it), there are excellent resources available on the FAMVIN website and the SVdPUSA website.