As you saw in our last blog post by Phil Hanus, the Men’s Shelter of Delaware County received a Systemic Change grant from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s National Office. "Just what is systemic change," you ask? I am going to attempt to explain just what that means to you.

The Vincentian Family of North America has defined Systemic Change as:

Systemic Change among those living in poverty aims beyond providing food, clothing, shelter and alleviating immediate needs. It enables people themselves to engage in the identification of the root causes of their poverty and to create strategies, including advocacy, to change those structures which keep them in poverty. Systemic Change requires transforming attitudes.

Or – to put it more simply – “systemic change happens when change pervades all or most of the system leading to change in the system itself.” Well, my 3^rd grade vocabulary teacher would not like this definition because the definition used the word being defined.

So what exactly is systemic change?

• It’s more than alleviating immediate problems like hunger, shelter, clothing, jobs, and transportation. How can we make sure when these financial problems arise in the life of our neighbors that they don’t completely and permanently devastate a family?
• It means engaging the people living in poverty in both identifying the barriers that are keeping them in poverty as well as having them identify some of the solutions for getting out of poverty. It’s important that their voices be part of any discussion that involves identifying these barriers and the solutions to help them overcome poverty.
• Ultimately, it means changing attitudes. The people living in poverty are the experts. They know what they are experiencing. They know the barriers that keeping them in poverty. They are energetic, they work hard, and they want things to change. So, ask them what barriers they are experiencing. Listen carefully to how they answer. Invite them to the tables of the institutions that most directly affect their lives and have them become part of the decision-making process. Help them see that they are an important part of the communities in which they live.
• Ultimately – and most importantly – it means I have to change, too. My attitude about poverty must change if we are ever to make a long-term difference that will improve my community. I need to understand that the problem of poverty is not a personal flaw of every single person living in poverty. There are multiple causes of poverty that interact with one another (that’s the SYSTEM). The solution isn’t simple and I need to understand that. I need to take ownership of both the problems and the solutions. I need to listen with an open mind and heart and realize that I don’t have all the answers. No one person does. And until we invite those living in poverty to the table so they are part of the conversation, the system we live in that makes it easy for some of us to thrive while others struggle, won’t be improved.

In the future, I’ll create some scenarios to explain this in real life terms. If you have questions you’d like me to address about systemic change, just send your questions to [email protected]