Talky Time

I went to a seminar this morning over at the Community College that was put on by a local Justice and Advocacy group.  It was obvious from the gathering of the usual suspects in Charles County that this was something that struck a bit of a nerve.  There were pastors, non-profit types, social services, counselors and various other activist sorts.  It was a diverse collection of the sorts of people who make it their primary purpose in life to help people.
It was also more than a time to talk about all the things that are available in the County, it was step in the direction of a different paradigm in helping.  Two thirds of the breakout groups were not about the usual litany of how to funnel needy people towards available services.  We talked about advocacy, which was eventually understood as a means to address the "wholesale" rather than "retail" issues facing people in poverty.  In other words, we started talking about systemic problems, how to try and remedy the public policies and rule that contribute to keeping people down and dependent on the system.
We also talked about self sufficiency, which in the parlance of the old saying is, "teaching people to fish, rather than giving them a fish."  It was, in my opinion, a conversation that many of us in the room have been longing to have.  We helpers need to talk to one another, we need to think in bigger terms than just one crisis after another.
I'm sure that there might be people who sat in on the conversation that felt like there were not enough action items.  I'm sure some people might feel that it was just a lot of talk.  Which would be true if we were talking about a gathering of random well meaning folk, or even a group made up exclusively of clergy, it was the impressive array of religious and secular, of social and spiritual, of different approaches to the problem.  It made for a somewhat cacophonous discussion in the early going, but when things settled down and specific agendas faded away, we found out that we have a lot in common, and there is a lot we don't yet know, and have not yet learned to clearly articulate, and that the problem is absolutely huge, and absolutely unacceptable.
One of the things we talked about was the disconnection that so many people of all socio-economic situations feel in the modern world.  Communities are important, they are the best lines of defense against individual suffering and the best support networks when disaster strikes.  We talked about how people in our community, who are on the edge and possibly about to sink into poverty just might be saved from that fate with a good community around them... maybe.
What occurred to me as I looked around the room at the people gathered was that this was a community of significant power and influence in our local community.  It made me glad to be there, it made me glad that we were talking, even if we weren't exactly "doing" any of the things that would make a direct impact, the formation of a community and/or network around this subject is a great way to spend a Monday morning.