Advocacy 101
Being a Voice of the Poor
Mike Clark
Germantown Systemic Change Initiative, Executive Director
Tom Dwyer
Northeast Region SVdP VOP Coordinator
Jack Murphy
Southeast Voice of the Poor Representative
National VOP Chair
Voice of the Poor Prayer
Lord of all people,
During your time on earth you identified with the poor and instructed us to care for one
another, for our neighbor and especially for the least of our brothers and sisters.
Be with us as we advocate for the poor.
Help us to persevere in joy and love on their behalf.
Add your voice to ours as we speak out for those who are not heard in our communities.
Guide us as we work, comfortable in the knowledge that we are doing your will for this
day and time and place, and that you will take care of tomorrow.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, his Blessed Mother, our patron St. Vincent and our
founder Blessed Frederic. Amen
Ruth Zemek, Phoenix Council
Workshop Objectives
• Review SVdP Advocacy
• Share examples of effective local advocacy
• Small group activity to plan local next steps.
• Attendees will leave the session understanding the Society's position
on the topic, and have access to contacts and resources to plan local
advocacy efforts.
Agenda
• Introduction & Review VOP Mission-Jack
• Advocacy at the Grassroots Level-Tom
• Advocacy at the Community Level-Mike
• Small Group Discussion-Taking this to my conference
• Wrap-up-Jack
Voice of the Poor Mission Statement
In the spirit of Christian love and justice, the Voice of the Poor Committee upholds
Catholic values by
• researching
• validating
• documenting
• advocating and
• promulgating issues related to the condition of the poor and disenfranchised
for the purpose of helping Vincentians to live their faith by acting knowledgeably
and credibly as a unified body speaking with one voice for the purpose of building
up the Kingdom of God.
Roles of the Voice of the Poor
Vincentian Civil Discourse
“Let us learn, first of all, to defend our belief without hating our
adversaries, to appreciate those who do not think as we do, to
recognize that there are Christians in every camp, and that God can
be served now as always! Let us complain less of our times and
more of ourselves. Let us not be discouraged, let us be
better.” Blessed Frederic
(Baunard, Correspondence, p.304)
How Vincentians & Catholics have been advocates
Vincent & Louise lobbied to change unjust systems
• changed conditions for galley slaves
• housing of the army
• stop the civil war
• treatment of children
•Elizabeth Seton established schools for poor children in Maryland
•Catholic Hospitals-600 hospitals and 1,400 other health facilities in all 50 states
•Catholic Charities
•Vincent found himself in positions of influence not for power but as a way of
influencing for the good
Cornerstones for the Society’s Systemic Change Effort
• Empowerment
• Mentoring
• Collaboration
• Advocacy
Foundations the Society’s Systemic Change Effort
Empowerment
Collaboration
Catholic
Social
Teaching
Mentoring
Advocacy
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Advocacy at the Grass Roots Level
SVDP Conferences, Districts and Councils
Where Does Our Work as Vincentians Lead?
Awareness of a Need
“Traditional”
Vincentian Charity
(Direct Aid)
“Not So Traditional”
Social Justice
(Advocacy)
How Do We Engage Our Fellow Vincentians in Advocacy?
1) Rally Around Familiar and Vivid Images. . .
Traditional Vincentian Response to Heed the Cry of the Poor
 Pope Francis’s Model and Message
 Jesus as the Ultimate Community Organizer

How Do We Engage Our Fellow Vincentians in Advocacy?
2) Emphasize Catholic Social Teaching
 24 Documents from 1891 to “Present”
1891 – The Condition of Labor
1931 – Reconstruction of the Social Order
1961 – Christianity and Social Progress
1963 to 2009 – 21 More Documents
 Joy of the Gospel (2014) – Pope Francis
Chap. Four – The Social Dimension of Evangelization
The Church in the Modern World
(1965)
Compendium of the Social
Doctrine of the Church (2004)
Strangers No Longer: Together
on the Journey of Hope (2003)
Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to
Political Responsibility (2003)
Catholic
Social
Teaching
Titles
A Call to Action
(1971)
Economic Justice for All
(1986)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church,
Second Edition (1992)
What are the Obstacles to Advocacy Engagement?



Tradition! “Vincentians Don’t Do Politics”
Building Consensus on Advocacy Projects and Positions
Lack of Time from Vincentian Volunteers
Tradition: “Vincentians Don’t Do Politics”
Education, Education, Education…
Rule 7.2 of Society of St. Vincent de Paul
“Where injustice, inequality, poverty or exclusion are due to unjust economic, political, or social
structures or to inadequate or unjust legislation, the Society should speak out clearly against the
situation, always with charity, with the aim of contributing to and demanding improvements.”
US Conference of Catholic Bishops
“Responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation.”
Pope Francis
“Politics, though often denigrated, remains a lofty vocation and one of the highest forms of
charity inasmuch as it seeks the common good.”
Building Consensus on Advocacy Projects and Positions?





Start Small with Education
Local Issues Identified by Vincentians’ Lived Experiences
SVdP Position Papers and Capwiz Action Alerts
US Conference of Catholic Bishops Public Policy
Pronouncements and Resources
Newsletters from Catholic Social Justice Groups
Lack of Time from Vincentian Volunteers

Voice of the Poor Representative in Each Conference

Voice of the Poor Committees
 District-based Committees are Likely Best
An Advocacy Model for the Voice of the Poor Work
Advocacy
and
Awareness
Info
Advocacy
and
Awareness
Info
Does Social Justice Advocacy Make Us Act
Differently as Vincentians?
YES!

At Personal Level – On Home Visits and for Other Direct Aid



Look for Causes, Barriers for the Problems Being Encountered
Identify Follow-up Systemic Change Opportunities
At Conference Level
 Devote an Agenda Section to Voice of the Poor Matters
 Engage in Social Justice and Advocacy Activities

At District and Central Council Levels
 Promote Systemic Change Thinking
 Seek Broad Systemic Change Opportunities
Advocacy at the Community Level
Germantown Systemic Change Initiative (GSCI)
Germantown Snapshot
• 21,000 Living in Poverty
• 7,500 Unemployed
• Reading/Math Proficiency < 40%
• Highest Level of Housing Distress (CDFI Indicator)
Systemic Change
Job
Money
Education
Health
Food
Collective Impact Model
Common Agenda
Shared Measurement
Mutually Reinforcing
Activities
Continuous Communication
Backbone Support
Preconditions for Collective Impact
Individual
Impact
Organizational
Impact
Germantown Impact (
Community)
GSCI Impact Model
Impact Blueprint
Direct
Service
Prioritize Outcomes
Select Measures (indicators)
Analyze Measures (Qualitative and
Quantitative)
Systemic &
Structural
Impact
GSCI aims to…
• Improve education, health, housing, and employment outcomes for the poor of
Germantown
• Move 2,000 people past the experience of poverty by 2020
• Build meaningful collaboration across sectors (non-profit, business, government,
resident)
Lessons for Advocacy
• Creating a pro-poor agenda
• Engaging politicians in collective impact
• “All politics is local”
• Proving impact is a powerful tool in advocacy
Small Group Activity
10 Min systemic investigation exercise
• Each home visitor should think about the last couple of people they’ve visited
• What did they ask us for? What was their stated need?
• What is the direct cause of the need?
• What are the underlying causes or contributors to that need?
• Do we think these root causes impact (or will impact) other clients?
• Is there anything we can do about those root causes?
• Are there other organizations in our area that work on these root causes?
Voice of the Poor Regional Reps
North Central Region
Mary Ann Reinhardt
rhino139@sbcglobal.net
Midwest Region
Joseph J. Komadina
jkomadina@hotmail.com
Mideast Region
Warren Wright
joannwarrenwright@yahoo.com
Northeast Region
Tom Dwyer
tdwyerma@comcast.net
West Region
Giulio Grecchi
ggrecchi@aol.com
Michael Stratton,
michaelstrattonsvdp.
vop@gmail.com
East Region
Lynne Betts
svdplbetts@yahoo.com
Lois Jackson
Ljgigi1936@aol.com
Spiritual Advisor
Rev. Louis Arceneaux,
C.M.
a.66528@yahoo.com
South Central Region
Frank Kiolbassa
fskiol96@aol.com
National Chair & Southeast Region
Jack Murphy
Jack.murphy@att.net
Current Position Papers of The Society of St. Vincent de Paul
• 1. A Just Wage for Employees of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, April 2001
2. Affordable Housing for the Poor, February 2002
3. Health Care for the Poor, Feb. 2004
4. Immigration, Sept. 2004
5. Fair Wages, Sept. 2005
6. Restorative Justice, Sept. 2006
7. Predatory Lending, April 2007
8. Homelessness, Aug. 2007
9. Hunger, Sept. 2008
10. Education, Apr. 2010
11. Human Trafficking, Sept. 2010
http://www.SVDPusa.org/Resources/VoiceofthePoor.aspx
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Society of St. Vincent de Paul
VOICE OF THE POOR
For further information on Voice of the Poor, see pages on the National SVdP website:
http://www.svdpusa.org/Resources/VoiceofthePoor.aspx
Or http://www.svdpusa.org/members/ProgramsandTools/VoiceofthePoor.aspx
For further information on Catholic participation in public life, see page on the USCCB
website: http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithful-citizenship/formingconsciences-for-faithful-citizenship-document.cfm
For further information on Collective Impact, see The Collective Impact Forum:
http://collectiveimpactforum.org/what-collective-impact
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Prayer for Systemic Change
•We praise and thank you, O God, Creator of the Universe. You have made all
things good and have given us the earth to cultivate. Grant that we may always
use created things gratefully, and share them generously with those in need.
Give us creativity in helping the poor meet their basic human needs. Open our
minds and hearts so that we might stand at their side and assist them to change
whatever unjust structures keep them poor. Enable us to be brothers and
sisters to them, friends who walk with them in their struggle for fundamental
human rights. We ask this through Christ our Lord. (from the Letter of Superior General on theme of annual
Vincentian Day of Prayer 2008)