FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS v5-27-2014
Marinette WI Society of St. Vincent de Paul – St Joseph Conference
experience with “Getting Ahead in a Just Getting’ by World”
(Modified May 2014, to include input from Getting Ahead Facilitator Training team,
other Councils implementing the Society’s vision for a mentoring program with Getting Ahead,
and recent participants in the Getting Ahead Facilitator Training webinars)
http://www.svdpusa.org/systemicchange/Home.aspx Links to Systemic Change Formation Materials: Resources, Getting Ahead,
Bridges out of Poverty, as well as presentations on Getting Ahead Preparation, Mentoring overview of process and tools
General
What is "Getting Ahead in a Just Gettin' By World"? Getting Ahead in a Just Gettin' By World is a facilitated
program to help individuals build their own personal plan to get out of poverty and create sustainability. It is built on the
work and ideas of Dr. Ruby Payne on the hidden rules of economic class, and the subsequent applications of those
principles in two books by Philip DeVol ("Bridges Out of Poverty: Strategies for Professionals and Communities", and
"Bridges to Sustainable Communities: A system wide, cradle-to-grave approach to Ending Poverty in America").
This course includes 10 modules with 15--20 sessions: Getting Started, What's it like now, Theory of Change, Rich /
Poor Gap & How it Works, Hidden Rules of Economic Class, Eleven resources, Stages of Change, Self-assessment of
resources, Building resources, Community Assessment, Your Plan for getting from poverty to prosperity, Creating mental
models for your personal path out of poverty and for community prosperity, Where to Go to build personal and community
resources, and Closing & Transition to mentoring. The program shows how to use the hidden rules of session to build up
financial, emotional, social, and other resources. Understanding the hidden rules of the middle session and wealth, and
choosing to use them, can open doors to new relationships, new jobs, and higher resources. The workbook is designed to
be used as an investigation tool by people working in groups with a trained facilitator. The participants explore the impact
that poverty has had on them, investigate economic realities, complete a self-assessment of their own resources, make
plans to build their own resources, and develop a mental model of community prosperity.
Typical time to complete the 10 modules in 15-20 sessions? Our first program was set up with two sessions per
week...Monday and Wednesday...for 3 hours...for two months ( with the last month having Mondays only and the final
week having two sessions, again Monday and Wednesday. 39-45 hours of class time total.. The answer is two months if
the students attend this way. It can also meet three hours a week for 15-20 weeks – which is what we did with the 2013 &
2014 programs – they met twice the first week, just to get to know each other and begin the work. More frequently than
twice a week is too hard emotionally and scheduling for the participants. Less frequently than once a week is hard to
maintain momentum and build relationships. The first week is paperwork, organizational, team building and introductions.
The last week is Graduation Celebration and presentation of your final mental model of your progress in session, as well
as preparation and planning for the final group project
Typical number of “Investigators” per course? The GA facilitator manual says the optimum number of investigators is
8-12. It is a local decision. In our particular experience, 6-10 is the best number. Since some will drop out, starting with
only 6 could be too few…and more than 10 will limit discussion and make it harder for the group to come together.
Investigators can be identified by graduates of the course – based on a need or thought that this candidate may benefit
from the course as well as make a contribution. Investigators can also be recommended and hand-picked. Referrals
come from agencies and groups that collaborate on service to those in poverty. In our community that is SSVdP, F-SET
with Forward Services, United Way, Rainbow House (Domestic Violence Shelter), Haven of Hope (Homeless Shelter),
Community Action Program, Energy Assistance, County Human Services, etc.
Have you incorporated Vincentian spirituality into the program? We have developed a set of faith-based
spiritual reflections and discussions that can be used with each GA lesson. Also the local group can redesign these to be
general public reflections without the context of God or Christianity. The Vincentian Spirituality of caring, compassion, and
acceptance of each participant regardless of “where” they are in life, shows a true Vincentian spirit and acceptance of
others. As a facilitator, we were moved each week with the sharing and knowledge that each investigator brought to the
table. It wasn’t about what they could get, rather what they could give!
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What are your plans to further improve the program’s use in your area? Is there anything you would do
differently if you were starting over? The plans to improve the program's use in the area include continued education
to the agencies and organizations that we work with in serving those in need. We would create a continuous program
with options for after graduation. From this first program we realized we need a better understanding of the individual
needs and benefits/resources in our community. We will do funding differently – we will offer the opportunity for other
churches, and community groups to be involved by funding the gas cards, lunches and eventually a coordinator/facilitator
position. One of our students wrote “Personally I believe firmly in budget and credit counseling and use of the S.M.A.R.T.
goals to use what we have learned in this first course to improve ourselves and our class Investigators.” More
involvement within the community would help tremendously. Mentoring will also be added. An active participation to help
with gas cards, meals, supplies, etc. would make this program more grounded in the community and could become selfsufficient in the future.
A critique by Paul Gorski, written in 2005, of Ruby Payne’s first book, A Framework for Understanding
Poverty, claims that her approach was “classist” and “racist,” and that it did not address systemic issues
in our communities: http://www.edchange.org/publications/Savage_Unrealities.pdf Is there any validity to
this criticism?
Ruby Payne's Framework was written for school administrators and teachers, and she freely stated at the time that it was
not originally intended to address systemic issues. Nevertheless, her original data on the hidden rules of class and the
reality of social norms arising from economic environments have resonated with millions of people.
Her work on economic class has allowed Americans to talk about barriers to change without supporting “classism.” In
fact, the author of Getting Ahead, Phil DeVol, argues that knowledge of class environments and hidden rules actually
helps undo classism. As for racism, Ruby Payne was referring to specific patterns observed in case studies and not
generalizing characteristics of all individuals in a group.
Payne co-authored Bridges Out of Poverty in 2001 with Philip E. DeVol and Terie Dreussi-Smith as the organization
branched out into working toward healthy, sustainable communities. In the subsequent collaborative work between Payne
and DeVol in 2010, Bridges to Sustainable Communities, they recommend a “triple lens” (individual, institution,
community) approach. This approach is a more comprehensive matrix that addresses all the causes of poverty, of which
systemic change and advocacy are clearly embraced. People in poverty are engaged to identify barriers they face as
they stabilize their lives and build resources, and to take seats at community planning and decision-making tables.
Moreover, solid evidence is accumulating regarding the effectiveness of Bridges constructs and the “Getting Ahead in a
Just Getting’ by World" program.
This comprehensive approach led the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to Bridges as a framework to assist in bringing about
systemic change. SVdP recognizes that a systemic approach is needed to meet our goal of ending poverty ― one
individual, one family, one community at a time.
Just like the Society, Bridges recommends trying to steer clear of political party affiliation, but advocating with local, state
and federal officials to change laws that are a barrier to escaping poverty. The work of the Society’s Voice of the Poor
Committee is very well-aligned with Bridges’ constructs for engaging in systemic change at the local, state and federal
levels.
It also important to note that in the field of education, Payne's career-long goal of offering strategies for successfully
raising student achievement and overcoming economic class barriers have become a cornerstone of advanced school
improvement, used with school districts across the country. Dr. Payne's work stems from more than 30 years of
experience in public schools as a high school department head, principal, and central office administrator of staff
development. Sequels to her original Framework book include Research-Based Strategies (2009) and School
Improvement: 9 Systemic Processes to Raise Achievement (2010), co-authored with Donna Magee, Ed.D. In 2011, two of
her publications received distinguished recognition: a Gold Medal for Removing the Mask: Giftedness in Poverty from
Independent Publisher in the education category, and a Distinguished Achievement Award for Boys in Poverty: A
Framework for Understanding Dropout (Solution Tree Press) from the Association of Educational Publishers in the
professional development category.
When Paul Gorski still lived in Minnesota, a community organizer and Bridges consultant reached out to him and informed
him about how Bridges was being applied by various sectors and many communities. Unfortunately, he has not updated
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his critique. If he had, he might have found that his criticisms were largely moot. What is really unfortunate is that his
criticism has gone unchallenged since 2005.
How has use of this program changed what the Society does in your area? Has it altered the share of time / money
between meeting immediate needs vs. systemic change? Our Conference will continue to assist those in need, at risk
of homelessness and/or extreme poverty and as we do, we will look for potential candidates for this sustainability
program. It created awareness of the issues from local organizations and churches who provided lunches. We were
able to discuss the needs of our Investigators as well as discussing possible solutions for some of the Investigators.
As far as Systematic change, we covered a lot of things in class in reference to the community as a whole and the needs
to improve upon from all levels: organizations and groups, as well as individuals... to create a unified force and goal for
change in our community.
One student wrote: “We have just started the course, but I believe it has opened the door for discussions on change and
how to reach change. Individuals who take the course are more aware of their need and ability to be self-sufficient and
also the community has become aware of how (the Investigators) can help to make positive, permanent changes through
education; how to set SMART goals that we will pursue with vigilance…the whole and the possible solutions with big
business with numbers and people to back up some of the concerns. Overall, we did a good job of exposing some of the
common dilemmas and starting to address them with people from the community.”
Change is always hard and requires much effort and input from not only the individual asking for the change, but for the
community to be supportive of those changes. The community needs to understand and become familiar with this
program so that in the future it can become more supportive and accessible to those contemplating change for their
future. Reaching out to those in need is a necessary component.
Is the program available in Spanish? Could you run a program with both Spanish and English speakers?
Getting Ahead Investigator workbooks are available in Spanish, but not in the current version which is 1/3 longer. So, if
you had both English and Spanish speakers in the same program, you would have to use the older books…or wait until
the latest version is available in Spanish. Another obstacle would be group sharing & interaction. Since much of the
learning comes from investigator sharing with each other, this would be challenged if they couldn’t fully communicate with
each other.
Investigator Selection
What is the interview/screening process used to select Investigators? # Interviewers, questions used selection
process. What characteristics / criteria do you look for in potential Investigators for success? Characteristics and/or
criteria include: need, motivation, desire for improving one's life, and we seek those who are able to truly use the program
to better their lives and create sustainability. The initial group process, was working with them on a few home visits prior
to offering them the opportunity for the class. Two Interviewers, just like on a home visit. The interviewers can come from
your Getting Ahead facilitators or your post-program mentors. We use the Getting Ahead statements on page 126 in the
Facilitator’s guide. See pages 126-128 in the Facilitator Notes booklet. You are looking for the qualities it discusses and
explains on those pages.
What is your process of discerning whether a candidate is a good one for the 16-20 week training?
See pages 126-128 in the Facilitator Notes booklet. You are looking for the qualities it discusses and explains on those
pages.
Do you pay your Investigators during the program? How much? How is this funded? The amount of incentive
varies by area (generally equivalent to the hourly wage for a typical session in that area - $15 to $25 per session, paid via
cards for gas, groceries, bus or in cash). The funding came from our conference of St. Vincent De Paul, local funeral
directors and other anonymous donors. A number of our local churches provided a lunch/meal for sessions. A store
voucher for clothing and necessities was also given to the Investigators.
How much should the stipend be? This is a local decision, but one way to think of it is what would a minimum wage
job in your area pay for 3 hours or work? While learning in the program, investigators are also helping the Society and the
community learn about poverty and its barriers to self-sufficiency. Like consultants, they should be paid for their value.
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We feel we will be unable to put together workshops of 6-10 investigators at the same time within any one
city. Because of geographic distances, I had envisioned holding separate workshops in each District. This
will limit the travel time of our clients to a maximum of 1 hour each way. Again, this will likely limit the
pool of candidates for each District. In Wisconsin’s experience, a typical group had 2 Investigators with travel of 20
miles or less, another 2 having 7 miles and the rest (4-5) with less than 1 mile. I cannot even imagine any Investigator,
no matter how motivated, willing (and being able) to travel one hour to get to the 16 meetings and a second hour to get
back home.
How do you attract a sufficient number of clients to make workshops successful? Specific examples
would be helpful. In Marinette, they had no problem getting referrals – as they worked extensively with a network of
community partners - - CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), CAP (Community Action Program), Rainbow House
(Domestic Violence Center), Haven of Hope (Adult Shelter), Abundant Life (Family and Adult Shelter), FSET ( Food Share
Employment and Training) program, school Homeless Coordinators (McKinney-Vento Act) as well as Social Services,
Salvation Army, SSVdP Conferences in Marinette WI and Menominee MI, and Northeast Wisconsin Technical College
(NWTC). Between all of these referrals, they had absolutely no problem filling a class. They send a letter requesting
referrals throughout the community, even to local employers; attaching a copy of a grant to a local employer, to show the
support they’ve developed by being successful with SMALL groups. We also created a special Powerpoint presentation
to take to employers to develop buy-in, for grants, or for training jobs for Investigators, either during or after completion of
the GA program.
For those who have questions about Marinette’s programs, contact Jeanne Harper, SVdP North Central Region VP, and
their local Getting Ahead coordinator: cell: 715-923-9549, home: 715-735-9549, or email: [email protected]
Jeanne M Harper, St Joseph Conference, 1113 Elizabeth Avenue- Marinette WI 54143-2514
What is the mix of men vs. women in the course--especially given some of the male / female dynamics in
poverty? In the initial group all Investigators were females except for one couple....and in that particularly instance, due
to the mix of personalities, the women in the group were able to encourage the one male to be more outspoken and
confident. This single factor actually led to a successful job interview and job for the male Investigator. I would leave the
judgment to the interviewers and referral sources as to the mix of male and female Investigators.
How do you work around the participant’s job schedules? Nearly all of the working poor we serve are in hourly
paid jobs with no flexibility re time off, some of course, work evenings and weekends? We worked around
everyone’s schedule – and luckily found a time good for everyone! Since each session normally begins with a meal, the
sessions are typically scheduled either early evening or early afternoon.
The recommended Getting Ahead workshop size of 6-10 investigators seems challenging for a smaller city
/ council area. Can it be done with fewer people, e.g. 1-4, and still be effective? Marinette WI has run GA for
3 years now. Their metro area includes Marinette (pop 10,862), Menominee (pop. 8,599) and Peshtigo (pop. 3487) – less
than 23,000 in the Tri City area. They had 12-15 referrals for each class (16 week programs - one a year for the last
three years). They’ve never had more than 8 attendees at the first meeting and by the third session were usually down to
5 or 6 investigators. This 20-25% dropout rate is typical nationally, per Bridges. Their smallest ending group was 4 and
this was problematic for the last 4 weeks in that the discussion really needs 6-8 to work sufficiently. Smaller groups miss
out on the Investigators challenging each other and encouraging each other as well. We would strongly discourage
planning on a program with only 1-2 investigators as it would shift the discussion dynamic too much towards the
facilitators “teaching” instead of facilitating a process in which the investigators learn from each other and take ownership
for their learning and plans.
What portion of your investigators come from conference home visit referrals vs referrals from other
orgs? It is interesting. Many of us serving the poor are dealing and working with the same individuals, so in many
cases, the referral is generally someone we have worked with and visited in their home. When they come from FSET usually SSVdP is the one who sent them to FSET -- then as they work with them, they let them know about the start of a
new Getting Ahead group and we get them back. Same for referrals from CAP or Salvation Army, we usually referred
them to the Salvation noon meal, and assisted with their rent last month, but this month GA is starting and so the flyer is
up at Salvation Army, the person we referred sees it and Salvation Army will call us with the referral to GA. We just
opened a new relationship with a company I worked with for 4 years - ATTIC Correctional Services and we have two
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referrals in our new group. We got those referrals, because Rose at United Way saw Darren and Dan and gave them
flyers for the group. United Way’s Director is a new GA facilitator. In this case, SSVdP did not know these referrals prior
(usually because they are just out of prison or jail). To summarize, in the past, 80-90% of the Investigators had a
relationship with SSVdP sometime prior to becoming an Investigator. It shows that relationships with other service
providers in the community is essential in developing referrals both ways - each program offers different services, we do
everything to avoid duplication - rather we all work together. Our community has a history with Bridges of almost 10 years
-- providing Bridges out of Poverty and Framework for Understanding Poverty through college or community meetings and
trainings. SSVdP, just took up the Getting Ahead, because we knew we had to do something more for those we were
serving -- something to bring stability to their lives and homes. It was a natural movement to go into mentoring some of
our friends in need.
One of Aha’s recommendations is for investigators to be a diverse group. Does this mean diversity of
economic class? How do you go about recruiting members from the Wealthy economic grouping?
Recruiting Middle class members may be a bit easier since they could be a co-facilitator but I imagine a
similar problem there. Any experience or comments? The issue of diversity comes up in a couple of places in the
Bridges material. In the case of a group of Investigators in a Getting Ahead program, Aha advocates that a diverse group
across the continuum of stability shown on page 7 of the Facilitator Notes example is desired, as the different experiences
of the investigators will enable them to learn from each other more. However, all of them are likely to be in poverty ranging from situational to generational. You would not recruit wealthy to be a GA investigator. Many of your candidates
come from of our home visits -- people who have jobs, but have had crazy stuff happen and find themselves for the first
time in need -- they have lots of stuff, but cannot pay their bills because they got injured on a ski-doo and the short term
disability pay is below what they generally bring in --- so we work with them to develop an awareness that they can't live
as they did before and then they gain awareness that they need to plan better for the future to ensure they have 3 months
wages saved for circumstances such as what they are in now. As well as having people who want to work on getting their
GED and develop a sense of competitiveness and strength in the belief they can be more. As well as investigators who
come from generational poverty and they are smart and want to break out of the tradition of the family -- graduate from
college and be more for their children. This is the continuum.
Aha also advocates that in a successful Bridges Out of Poverty community, you want to create an environment where all
economic classes - poverty, middle class, and wealth - are at the community "decision-making table." That way all
perspectives are engaged. That is where the wealthy come in to play with a Getting Ahead program - not as an
investigator, and probably not as a facilitator (although possible) - but as a supporter of the program and a partner with the
graduates in making the community more successful and sustainable.
Facilitator Selection & Training
Does use of this program require your facilitators to also be trained in the Bridges program and
materials? Facilitators are required to become familiar with the Bridges constructs, and are REQUIRED to be trained as
a Getting Ahead Facilitator. Due to the Society's contract with Aha, both of these training elements will be available from
the Society now, at little or no cost.
When will the Getting Ahead Facilitator training be available? The first National webinars were held in
January, March and May of 2014. Additional dates will be scheduled in fall of 2014 and then several times / year
afterwards. Look for dates to be communicated in the E-Gazette. In addition, Getting Ahead materials are posted on the
Society’s Systemic Change web portal: http://www.svdpusa.org/systemicchange/BridgesOutofPoverty.aspx
Where / how were Marinette’s facilitators trained? Cost? How many facilitators are recommended for a program?
Goodwill Industries of Upper Michigan and Northern Wisconsin paid the estimated $900 for the licensing training program.
Facilitators completed the coursework (DVD training) and prepared their Lesson Plans. (NOTE: Getting Ahead Facilitator
training is now available through the Society at no cost via webinar, and Bridges Individual Lens training can be done
locally by the Society using the DVD series available for purchase from Mike Syslo in the National office). Facilitators also
received additional “training” in the sessions, by attending and participating, as well as by completing the exercises /
assignments PRIOR to facilitating each session, and by reading additional books and materials from AhaProcess®. The
GA program is recommended to be co-facilitated by two facilitators. In Marinette, we use SSVdP facilitators, community
partner facilitators, and eventually, GA graduate facilitators.
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AhaProcess® has a specific set of required prerequisite
courses (e.g. Facilitators are required to become familiar with the Bridges program, and are REQUIRED to be trained as a
Getting Ahead Facilitator). Due to the Society's contract with Aha, both of these training elements are now available from
the Society at much lower cost. Aha Process also has a list of desired qualities for GA facilitators. Our investigators
believe that the skills they looked for in their Facilitator included: Ability to speak & present, knowledge of subject matter,
training in the topics covered in the program, & of course, the skills to motivate people & show them their resources, a
good Facilitator would also know community resources & how to address the difficulties in their community. The facilitator
must be able to sit and LISTEN and NOT attempt to FIX or SOLVE – rather LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN.
What skill sets do you look for in potential facilitators?
Facilitator Tips
As a facilitator, should I complete all the exercises and activities in the Investigator workbook before
facilitating a program? Yes, that is the best way to understand the material and what you will be asking each
investigator to do in the program. It is also important to not ask an Investigator to do anything you have not done. Each
of us will have our own life experiences and our own concepts of understanding the exercises and the process. The
exercises are in the Modules -- read through the modules and COMPLETE the exercises as they happen in the purple
book. There is a complete list of all the activities & exercises in each module that you can download from the Systemic
Change web site in the Bridges section under Facilitator Aids ("exercises by module”).
http://www.svdpusa.org/systemicchange/BridgesOutofPoverty.aspx
Is it appropriate to use Powerpoint in the program with investigators? No. The program is designed for
investigators to teach themselves by following the manual and its exercises, with the facilitator being just a guide.
Introducing Powerpoint presentations led by the facilitator would make it too easy to slip into “teaching.”
Some facilitators create Powerpoint handouts for themselves as simply a way to create notes and remind themselves of
the goals for that module, but that is a personal resource for the facilitator, not an instructional tool for the investigators.
An example of one of these is saved in the Facilitator Aids on the web site (“Sample Facilitator Notes”).
How do you handle missed classes? Due to lack of resources (transportation, babysitters, emergencies, "life in
poverty"), missed classes seem inevitable. You want to hold them accountable, but what resources are provided to
help them keep up or work around a missed class? They are allowed two missed classes per AhaProcess. Either one
of the Facilitators helps them make up what was covered, or as the group matures, one of their peer Investigators will help
them catch up. We cannot share what the group Investigators shared personally in class, UNLESS signed releases are
received. We offered time for the attending Investigators to update the absent member at the next meeting. We provided
the babysitter and paid for the sitter! We offered to pick them up if necessary, in case of car trouble (which can be
frequently the reason for missing appointments). We gave them gas cards to get to the next session as their pay as
Investigators. If approved by the group, you could video tape the sessions for those missing (due to hospital, crisis, etc.)
GA Facilitator Notes (top of page 47) says: “[Facilitators] don't empower adult investigators; they
encourage the use of the power that investigators were born with.” What does that mean? The AHA
Process belief (and our experience) is that Investigators HAVE the Power within themselves to make their own changes.
We are not doing anything to the investigators. We are simply facilitating, asking questions, being curious.
There is a reading list at the end of each of the modules. What actions are the investigators supposed to take
with these or are they just there in case? They are there for deeper reading, if the facilitator or investigator needs to
better understand the concepts. Some groups have taken one or two of the follow up reading for assignments to report
back to the group on their findings .
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Reviewing Module 2, on page 70 of the Facilitator Manual there are two side by side drawings of the
theory of change mental model with two lists of "what abstract consists of." Is one for the example of
smoker, and the second for another example? If so, it's really not clear to me how "stages of change"
would be exemplified in a list of "Procedural Steps" for the two examples. I don't get it. Help me
understand. First, read pages 67-69. These are imperative to understanding the Theory of Change. People move from
concrete (tyranny of the moment) to the abstract and in order to have the ability to create a new story.
An example - - an investigator made a plan of action in case she got a flat or problem with her car and could not get to
work. Instead of losing her job, like she has done before. She was proactive and created a new story -- she had three
friends to call -- one to take the kids to school, one to take her to work on time and one to fix the car for her for the next
day. Instead of being stuck in the tyranny of the moment, as she has done in the past and become frustrated and not get
to work on time --- she went into the abstract and created a plan - a new story for her family.
This is meant to draw this as you discuss it with the investigators as it states on page 67. So that it is interactive reinforcing the active, intentional movement of the thinking ....
Concrete is solving immediate problems just to survive all day long without time to think abstractly about the situation.
Electricity is turned off -- need it on -- do not want to discuss budgeting at this point (that is too abstract when the need for
electricity is so real and emergent). So they go to agencies and friends to get the Concrete need taken care of. They
need to be able to take in NEW INFORMATION in order to make CHANGE in their lives --- this is the key to increasing
economic stability.
Abstract is defined by the words on page 68: detachment, objectivity, new info, new ideas, analysis, thinking, education,
plans and support --- all of these are part of the abstract work the investigators need to spend time on.
Once this is drawn, you go to step 6 on page 69 --- the economic realities discussed in previous chapter (causes of
poverty, etc) and the Stages of Change -- which track our plan of action and the Resources needed and Hidden Rules)
This reinforces the need to detach so they can think abstractly....by creating mental models...to see the big picture,
connections, relationships and options....then by developing social capital -- making info relevant and meaningful and,
third, by using mediation -- investigating the what, why, and how --- to be able to envision a future story.
The rectangles at the bottom represent the plans -- step 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.
How much time should be planned for preparing to facilitate and run a Getting Ahead program?
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Identifying target audience for GA classes (from home visits, community referrals, junior college students…):
plan on 3-5 hours to identify and interview candidates
Identify the facility: 3-5 hours coordinating and preparing
Organize rotation of churches / groups to provide meals: 3-4 hrs contacting Churches and church organizations
to set up lunches/dinners for 16 sessions
Organize baby sitters & activities for children: 3-4 hours organizing
Order participant & facilitator guides: 1 hour max, preparing handouts, resources, etc.
Acquire participant & program supplies (flip chart pads & markers, tape, pens & pencils, notebooks,
portfolios; carry bag….): 3-4 hours Preparing the Investigator bags of goodies
Decide how stipend will be paid (cash, store card, bus pass…): If you are not funding this directly, and need to
get other organizations to sponsor and pay for the cards, allow several hours (Marinette WI did talk shows on radio
(Catholic and local), and wrote biweekly Public Service Announcements for local papers to get financial sponsors for
this expense
Determine how program will be funded (sponsoring conference, grant, community partners): 3-4 hours -- send
out faxes to all chamber of commerce businesses and organizations -- send out emails to all as well
Determine if program will be offered once or twice a week and at what day & time: No significant time, but
ideally this decision is made in conjunction with each class’ participants, unless restricted by the facilitators’ availability
or facility availability
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In conjunction with Community Resources Collaboration team, determine how partners will be involved
(funding, participant referrals, graduate support…): this can take 5-6 meetings - 1 hour each - with community
leaders
How much time should facilitators set aside to prepare for each session? A good rule-of-thumb is 2-3 hours
preparation for every hour of session time…so a 2.5-3 hour session would take 7.5-9 hours of preparation. Some of this
is joint time for the two co-facilitators to decide who will take which activity or portion of the material. As you may imagine,
more time will be spent preparing before the first time you facilitate a program than when you are more experienced.
Is there a mock video of each module for training purposes? You can purchase a set of DVDs from Aha in which
various facilitators around the country share tips, some of which are module specific...but it is not video of actual
sessions. Since every session and every group are so different, not much is the same except the material in the
workbook. Investigators questions and their stories along the way create different teachable moments which create a
variety of Aha experiences -- that trigger something unique in each program. You can find video links of several
facilitators and investigators sharing their experience of Getting Ahead in a document on the Systemic Change web site,
Bridges section, under Facilitator Aids, videos on poverty.
Do you as facilitator share your experiences also? Yes!
Community Assesment pgs. 168 - 176, appears to require significant research and seems too ambitious.
Please comment… Our investigators did a lot of this outside of the session, drawing upon their own knowledge and
their contacts at various agencies in the community, library research, etc. You will be surprised at what they learn on their
own (and teach you)! Per one GA facilitator candidate: I used to facilitate a college transition workshop for adults on
assistance. I know that experiences like this can work and that the people who share this with us will grow so much - and
to be honest - I grew the most. Some of the students I worked with are still friends. So please let the process work, you
won't regret any of it.
Program Organization
What does it cost to run a Getting Ahead program? The largest cost element is the stipend for each investigator.
Many programs pay a $25 per session stipend via a gift card (e.g. gas card, bus pass, or to a local store). So, if your
program had 8 investigators for 16 sessions, the stipends would cost $3200 in total, or $400 per participant. The
Investigator workbooks cost about $20 each. Other out of pocket expenses include supplies like flip chart paper, marking
pens, supply bags for the investigators with notebooks, pens, and so on. Meals and babysitting are usually sourced
through in-kind via donations by church / community groups. Conservatively, you should plan on a cost per participant of
around $500.
How you fund that is up to your circumstances and creativity. Marinette WI has received funding from Goodwill Industries,
United Way, and a grant from a Caterpillar Inc local company. In some cases, referring conferences may choose to
sponsor investigators and pay for their cost, as an “investment” in their future…and then provide the mentoring team that
will support them on their future path out of poverty.
Where do we order books for Getting Ahead Facilitators & Investigators? All Bridges books, including the
GA Facilitator and Investigator manuals, and “Bridges Out of Poverty” or “Bridges to Sustainable Communities” should be
ordered directly from Aha Process, Inc.
When you do general Vincentian education on Understanding Poverty using the Bridges DVD set, you should provide
each participant with a copy of the book, “Bridges Out of Poverty.” In Waukesha, they ordered a bulk supply of the
Bridges books and have them on hand for resale at their Education Sessions. Again, the more we can get these concepts
and lens out into the community, the easier it will be to implement change.
For the set of 7 DVDs used for education on Bridges Individual Lens, the Society has a discounted price of $120 + S&H.
Those are ordered from Mike Syslo in the National office.
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Will the Bridges Training be available from the National via webinar or face-to-face, or do we need to
sign up to be trained by Aha? What is the cost of getting people trained? Getting Ahead Facilitator Training
will be offered from National, via webinar. Its only cost is purchase of the Investigator & Facilitator books from Aha, $38 +
S&H ($32.50 if ordered in sets of 10 or more).
Bridges Individual Lens training should be provided locally by each Council - using the Bridges DVDs purchased from
National. Price is $120 plus S&H. Councils must also pay National the Bridges license fee of $4.50 pp for all those
trained as systemic change / Bridges trainers / formators. This license fee does not have to be paid for those attending
for just their personal knowledge improvement. Trainees should also get a copy of the book, “Bridges Out of Poverty”,
purchased from Aha, $25 ($18 if purchase 10 or more) plus S&H. All Bridges pricing info is spelled out on the Systemic
Change web site: http://www.svdpusa.org/systemicchange/BridgesOutofPoverty/BridgesMaterials.aspx
In Peoria, the Council recently put on a 1-Day workshop for Vincentians called "Understanding Poverty." They used the
Overview presentation from St Louis 3-day Transforming Lives workshop, the 7 Bridges DVDs along with the handout
summary and discussion questions from St Louis, and a closing presentation put together locally on where they are going
next in their area. The total cost to run the workshop was about $30 per person ($20 for the book, plus lunch/snacks).
How did Marinette WI get started? When did you receive the training, where, how long was it, and how
much did it cost your conference? When did you do the first Investigator training, and was there any
additional work do be done in your Conference before you started the training? When we got started three
years ago, the Society did not have our webinar offering available, so we sent people to an in-person workshop through
Aha Process that cost $900 (in our case, a local partner, Goodwill Industries paid this expense for us). We now offer this
training through the Society, via webinar, for free (only cost is purchase of a Facilitator & Investigator manual for $38 +
S&H). It is the same training as offered by Aha, but with a Vincentian orientation. Aha Process gave the Society the
rights to use / modify their materials in an agreement with National.
Since the Society is recommending that use of Getting Ahead be combined with a follow-on mentoring program that
provides encouragement and support to GA graduates, you should be thinking about the elements needed to enable
that.
The mentoring formation and support materials developed last year are stored on the Systemic Change web site in the
Conference section. http://www.svdpusa.org/systemicchange/ConferenceMaterials.aspx
Those materials includes Powerpoint presentations and a variety of support documents, including a Readiness Checklist which is a good companion piece to the Getting Ahead planning checklist provided. All of those materials are free. You
can, of course, adopt those as is...or modify them to suit your local circumstances. The only formation tools that have
price tags to them are the Bridges materials. You can order a set of the 7 DVDs we used in St Louis last summer from
Mike Syslo in the National office for $120 + S&H (vs. $360 from Aha). Bridges books are ordered directly from Aha
Process Inc.
Another preparation element will likely include recruiting. Getting Ahead and mentoring are very different from our
traditional conference charity work as they require a long term personal commitment and relationship with a person on the
journey out of poverty. This is very different than our in & out home visits which provide a short term, immediate fix to a
problem (past due rent or utility bill or supply of food). Since our Vincentians are volunteers, they keep coming back
because they get something out of what we do today. Many have not "signed up" for this new service. Since we are not
stopping that, that's OK...we still need those Vincentians to do what we are doing today for the vast majority of those we
serve. This new work is going to be targeted at a small sub-set of those we serve, and while some of our existing
Vincentians will feel called to this new work, we are likely going to have to reach out in our parishes and communities to
find different people called to this more long term relationship.
In Waukesha WI, the local Council has positioned Bridges Education Sessions as information for Vincentians to become a
better Home Visitor. Their thinking: If they come for this, they just might ‘stay’ to become a trained mentor/facilitator
/support at a subsequent event. They also created marketing material to reach other people of good will (in parishes,
congregations, and the community) regarding the Education Sessions as the first step in learning if they wish to be part of
a program to guide people in making life changes toward self-supporting and self-directed lives using mentoring as a
support helping to facilitate changes. They believe broad community support and participation is needed to make this
work.
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How long does it take to get this program off the ground? In Marinette WI, our community had many
organizations already trained in Bridges constructs….so we were able to launch within 6 months. For communities just
getting started, this could take up to a year to train Vincentians and community partners in Bridges Out of Poverty
constructs, plan the first sessions, train facilitators and mentors, establish the collaboration partnerships, and so on.
Mentoring
What ongoing / mentoring is provided after the program? By whom? Time commitment? Mentoring is
now an important part of the Society's recommended support for all GA graduates. We recommend a team of two mentors
be assigned to support the graduate as they seek to implement their action plan to get out of poverty. The mentors have
specific training as well. Investigators and facilitators decide what other classes could be offered as follow-up, i.e.
Budgeting and credit classes. There is also a possibility of a support group meeting monthly – which is an open invitation
to GA graduates to communicate and support each other after the program has finished.
What is the best way to find and engage mentors for the GA program or do we just use our regular
Vincentions? Shouldn't we have mentors in place to help recruit potential investigators? Certainly, you
should look first to your existing Vincentians to see if any of them are interested in becoming mentors. In Peoria, we used
a 1-day "Understanding Poverty" workshop which uses the Overview presentation from St Louis, the 7 Bridges DVDs with
the discussion questions, and a closing presentation on What's Next (our local plan), as a way to both educate and attract
potential mentors. The Vincentians who came cared enough to commit a day to learning more about those we serve...so
we think some will want to take the next step and be a mentor or a GA facilitator. We also advertised in our parish
bulletins for any parishioners to come, and several did. Interestingly, some were never particularly motivated to join the
Society as they weren't "called" to our current short term charity work (even though they may have supported us
financially or in prayer), but they are interested in doing something more lasting with people in poverty and are interested
in getting involved with our Society's mentoring / GA program. This is a win-win, as we need our existing Vincentians to
continue our current service, but need new people with a different motivation (and different skill set) for systemic change whether that is mentoring, GA facilitation, or advocacy and community collaboration.
And yes, you would ideally want to have identified mentors before you start your first GA program, as you would want
them to be the people who explain what is involved in GA before someone makes the commitment to attend...and explain
how GA graduates will be supported afterwards by mentors.
Waukesha, WI (Steve Cigich is Council President) has a great plan for parish and community education about their
mentoring program ("Coming Together to Get Ahead"). They developed a very basic “Intro to Poverty” talk at conference
meetings. It is 20 to 40 min event depending on how engaging the conference is. So our first outreach was to
Vincentians.
Concurrently, they developed a relationship with and are working through the board of directors for the Hope Center – a
community organization that serves the homeless and near homeless through a meal program. It was formed initially as
an ecumenical outreach to this population and has roughly 100 or parishes and congregations associated with it.
Waukesha District Council is getting the message out through them to their parishes and congregations. Their brochure /
invitation to go back to conferences asking them to use this information to engage their parishes is copied below. We are
positioning it as a way to attract more people to SVDP (and mentoring).
Finally, Waukesha is funneling all interested people into Education Sessions (the Bridges Lens DVDs will be presented
along with a very brief summary of the mentoring process – they are calling it ‘Coming Together to Get Ahead.’ They are
positioning these as discernment sessions. There is no commitment in coming. They simply want to get the message out
to as many in the community as possible. Their goal between February and May is to hold 3 Education Sessions. The
‘ask’ at the end of the education session is for people to come forward to be trained as a mentor, facilitator, or a member
of a support team. Once they have enough these folks coming forward they will hold such sessions. While they will do
the mentor and support team training locally, they plan to refer facilitators to the Society’s webinar training course for
Getting Ahead facilitators. They started recruiting for GA participants in April/May 2014 for a start in June. See following
example:
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Invitation to attend an Education Session about Waukesha’s new ministry:
‘Coming Together to Get Ahead’, a Waukesha SVdP Mentoring Program
When: February 8, 2014
Where: St. Dominic Catholic Church – Marcy Center (18255 W. Capitol Dr. Brookfield)
Time:
8:00 am – 2:45 pm (Continental breakfast and lunch provided)
Who’s Invited: Vincentians, parishioners - all interested parties are invited!
_________________________________________________________
The Waukesha Council seeks to implement National’s initiative of putting ‘Hope in Action’ through ‘Coming
Together to Get Ahead’, a Waukesha SVdP mentoring program. Why is mentoring important? National leaders
explain it best:
In Romans, St. Paul writes: “…may you abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
When Vincentians encounter Christ in our home visits and service to the needy in our communities we are inspired to put
God’s hope into action through charity and justice.
Through mentoring, we will walk with individuals on their self-directed journey out of poverty.
Through advocacy and collaboration, we will remove barriers and create strong, sustainable communities.
Together through Hope in Action, we will work to end poverty by creating systemic change one person, one neighborhood, one
community at a time.”
Are you wondering how Waukesha’s ‘Coming Together to Get Ahead’ mentoring program will operate and
benefit many people we serve and our community?
Are you considering being a part of the program and wishing to learn more about how to get involved?
Are you questioning who and how you may refer patrons to participate in Waukesha’s mentoring program?
If you answer ‘yes’ to any of these questions, this session is for you.
Seating is limited – sign up now!
Please RSVP on or before January 31st to Julie McIntyre – phone: 262.522.3241 or email:
[email protected]
In the meantime, if you want a brief overview of the program visit our website at stvincentwaukeshacounty.org and move
the cursor to the Home Page tab and click on the ‘Coming Together to Get Ahead’ tab.
Shouldn't we have mentors in place to help recruit potential investigators? Yes, it would be best to identify
mentors before you start your first GA program, as you would want them to be the people who explain what is involved in
GA before someone makes the commitment to attend...and explain how GA graduates will be supported afterwards by
mentors.
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Do mentors sit in on the Getting Ahead sessions? No. Having 16 “observers” (for a group of 8 investigators) sitting
in on the session would create the wrong dynamic. These need to be closed sessions to create the openness and trust
needed. Mentors will provide background support – checking in periodically by phone, perhaps helping investigators
overcome any obstacles to participation. They really come into play at the end, after graduation.
If you hold your GA sessions offsite... is the Society liable for damages and losses? In Marinette, we held our
sessions at the local college…they had liability insurance. Depending on where you hold your sessions, you may need a
liability insurance waiver / coverage.
Community Support
Do you have a network of community resources that the graduates can draw upon to successfully implement their
personal plan? What do those include? How were they developed? Do they also need to be grounded in Bridges
training? Supportive of Vincentian spirituality? Your probably already have a resource list for immediate needs - a “getting by” list. You also need a resource list that will help GA graduates ”get ahead”. This is a new perspective that
must be developed to help GA graduates in the tough work that starts after graduation. It will lead to fruitful collaborative
relationships in our communities. In discussion with others at the table, new ideas and perspectives can be added in the
mix. Personal experiences, life lessons, and the sharing of knowledge gained in local experiences helps tremendously.
This sharing provides each Investigator with an “inside” view of what that resource lacked and how it was necessary to
ask other questions to gain the information that was necessary to gain a needed resource. We have added a closing
Spiritual Reflection (Scripture reading, reflection and question and closing prayer) at the end of each module – the focus
being on the module topic).
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