Over 500 young people have joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society in the last year. Youth SVP groups have sprung up in schools and parishes from Brighton to Newcastle. It’s a far cry from the SVP portrayed in the book “Angela’s Ashes”! What is going on?

It is one of the great ironies of the St. Vincent de Paul Society that an organisation that was founded by a group of young enthusiastic students in France in 1833 had become up to this year, certainly in Europe, a society frequented by men - and only recently women - almost all advanced in years! The elderly image of the SVP and its traditional low profile may seem as far removed from the lives of our young people today as can possibly be. So it will probably come as a huge surprise to learn that, during this last year, the SVP in England and Wales has become reborn and rejuvenated by a dramatic influx into its ranks of hundreds of teenagers. Over 500 young people have joined a Youth SVP group this year and the numbers are rising.

Just over 12 months ago, I was appointed the SVP’s first-ever full time National Youth Development Officer. The SVP has decided to invest heavily in youth development as its main Millennium project. I decided to take on this role after a 25 year teaching career because of what I perceived to be the huge potential within this traditional organisation for the development of modern young people. My last post was as Head of Religious Education and Personal and Social Education in a secondary school in Birkenhead. It was there that  I learnt that one of the most effective ways of developing a young person personally, socially and spiritually is to encourage them to become involved in voluntary work with people in need in the local community. The SVP, which offers person-to-person support to local people in need, is tailor-made for our young people and is so well equipped to meet their spiritual needs in the new Millennium.

During my travels up and down the country, many people unconnected with the SVP have been first surprised and then inspired by the potential in this traditional organisation for effective youth development today. Changing the image of the SVP and making it more appealing and accessible to modern youngsters has been one of the more challenging aspects of my new role. However my job has been made much easier by having some quality resources, such as the Youth SVP website and particularly the 1999 video “Finding Hidden Talents”. This video has been a huge hit this year. It is a truly inspirational video, full of genuine and committed young people who talk so enthusiastically about the SVP and its contribution to their development. You also see the young volunteers at work, person-to-person, in the local community. These youngsters are seen engaged in other challenging voluntary work, for example supporting adults with severe learning difficulties or helping primary school children with literacy and numeracy. Another group prepares and gives out food to homeless people on the streets of London. Indeed one of the appealing aspects of SVP generally is that any person-to-person support falls within its brief. There are groups visiting hospices, paired-reading schemes, others helping children with special needs and a 6th form group working with alcoholics.

The SVP, with its person-to-person focus and ready-made structure and story, contains an attractive package for modern youngsters. Many youngsters find in SVP work an ideal balance of challenge and enjoyment. Phil Dearden, who is studying GCSEs, passes on his computer skills to local primary school children. “It’s really good fun and I enjoy it a lot”, he says. “I think that’s what the SVP does. You get a lot out of it by helping other people”. Of course not all the reasons for joining a Youth SVP group are entirely altruistic! Declan Kelly, 15, who helps in a local primary school, explains: “I want to be a primary school teacher, so helping children is giving me work experience already”.  The Youth SVP Field Workers, in their presentations to young people in parishes and schools, stress the value of SVP for personal and social development, for building confidence and self-esteem. Youth SVP believes in recognising, affirming and celebrating the achievements of young people engaged in voluntary work and has a system of awards and personalised certificates.

I am sometimes told that young people today are ‘unclubbable’, implying that they will no longer join groups where they have to commit themselves to certain values and structures. But this is not my experience. Youth SVP groups happily meet together regularly to discuss and plan their activities in the local community. The meetings have a set structure. They have their own youth-friendly membership booklets. They elect their own leader or ‘president’ and are encouraged to take responsibility for their activities in the community, although an adult, called the Group Adviser, is linked to the group, attending their meetings and providing help and advice when required. In many ways, the dedication, enthusiasm and commitment of the Group Advisers I have met this year, many of them busy teachers willing to take on yet another task, has been one of the most heartening aspects of my job.

The rise of a committed and enthusiastic group of Youth SVP Field Workers, aged 18 plus, is another exciting development. 23 have been trained this year to visit schools and parishes to talk to young people about Youth SVP and to lead workshops in day and residential events. In the last month alone I have received requests to establish Youth SVP groups from schools and parishes in Hull, London, Derby, Brighton, Leeds and many more. Not only do I believe we have a tremendous option in Youth SVP to offer our young people; we also have a slick and effective method of establishing and supporting groups which has been well received by schools and parishes. This 3 Steps Method involves as the first essential step the identification of an adult in a school or parish to support and encourage the group. A youth development officer will then visit the Group Adviser and discuss a suitable project. Finally a Field Worker will deliver a presentation to the target group, inviting any interested young people to come to a follow-up meeting to set up their own group. Resources, certificates, newsletters etc. and other support can be provided by the youth development officer who will remain in contact with the Group Adviser.