Social Change – What Does it Mean?

Social Change, I mention it on my website but haven’t gotten as far as explaining the term.

Imagine a homeless guy.

Now, imagine a kid slipping the homeless guy a dollar without his friends noticing.  The homeless guy looks awkward and the kid kicks off on his skate board.  Has anything changed?

Maybe. But the kid is still a kid and the homeless guy is still, well, homeless.

Now, along comes the nice man who runs the traveling soup kitchen. He sets out his food, some folding chairs and the regular group gathers. They set their cardboard signs aside and have some time together. Anything new happening? Well, a feeling of community, less hunger. This is much like the teen’s interaction, both worthy of notice and both kind.  Giving is good.  Feeding hungry people is good.  Kindness is better than good and another topic altogether.

Now, imagine someone rented a small home and invited the homeless man in for the night. Very nice, still kind. Nothing wrong here, except, the guy is still homeless.

Go another step with me and suppose someone has time and resources, the homeless guy might get help finding a job, medical care and eventually a place to call home. Awesome.

This is change. But, what about that other guy who just took his place on the corner?

Social Change happens when someone figures out why there are so many homeless people and does something that contributes significantly to changing the situation.   Social changes often take place through legislation. Organization. These things take time and energy, education and bravery. Organizing for social change is not an easy task. It is not limited to homelessness, that is only an example. Other areas of social change include the Disability Community, Housing, Low Income Groups, and things I am not able to bring to mind right now.

I have some links on this page you can follow. You aren’t limited to following, you can comment. Start a discussion.