Page 196 - The Power to Change Anything

Find Strength in Numbers 185

Silbert sends criminals into people’s homes, and she asks
alcoholics to serve drinks—with almost no problems. When
you ask her why her influence strategy succeeds, she explains
that a key lies in the complex, pervasive, and powerful social
system of Delancey. The organization does not have a single
in-house professional, but it does have a great deal of social cap-
ital. Delancey relies on a web of helping relationships that
Silbert has constructed for over 30 years.
Here’s how she draws on the power of social capital as a
means of supporting vital behaviors. Silbert structures the
entire Delancey experience around residents giving each other
instruction, mentoring, and guidance. That means that a resi-
dent who has been onboard for a single day is likely to be asked
to assist someone who has just arrived. And despite the fact that
a resident may have shown up at the front door hung over, une-
ducated, and skilled only in criminal behavior, he or she will
eventually earn the equivalent of a Ph.D. in mentoring, coach-
ing, and teaching—or nobody would make it out alive.
In Silbert’s words, “You learn a little and then teach it to
someone else—‘Each one teach one.’ For example, you’re at
Delancey a hot minute and someone newer than you comes
in. So someone says to you, ‘Do me a favor, take him under
your wing.’ From that point on people talk with you more about
how you’re doing with the guys under you than about yourself.”
To ensure that individuals assist one another, Delancey is
structured with one goal in mind. From the moment a resident
arrives at Delancey—frightened and suspicious—he or she is
immersed in a culture and language system designed to max-
imize peer support. If you were a resident, here’s how you’d be
enriched with social capital.
When you first show up, you’re assigned to a dorm of nine
individuals of different races. Next, you’re placed in what is
known as a “minyan.” A minyan is made up of ten people from
different dorms. The word minyan originates from Jewish tra-
dition and refers to a congregation consisting of 10 adults. A