Hikikomori has been recognized as a significant social issue in Japan. It is a Japanese term that refers to young people (aged 18-39 years) who have been in an asocial state of social withdrawal and social isolation for over six months. The Cabinet Office of Japan suggests that the number of hikikomori youth has reached approximately 700,000 and…

Presents stories of low-income fathers (N=20) who participated in a Responsible Fatherhood (RF) program in a large urban area. A hermeneutic phenomenological methodology was used to document participants' memories of becoming fathers, the benefits and barriers to them remaining in the program, and their suggestions for program improvement.…

Predelinquent and delinquent youths were given behavior modification, social skills, and self-management training. The youths demonstrated a decrease in the number of problem behaviors exhibited at home and in school. The benefits of a self-management approach to juvenile offenders are discussed. (Author)

Outlines what help is available and how it can be provided for Ontario teenagers with alcohol-related problems through community agencies and programs, services of professional social workers and counselors, group support, residential treatment, therapeutic goals, and family involvement. (NEC)

Traces the tradition of self-help in the Black community from the slave era through the contemporary civil rights movement. Contrasts the nontraditional female-headed extended Black family with that of the traditional male-headed nuclear White family. Discusses community-based self-help programs for Black families developed by the National Council…

Describes the Canadian government's New Horizons program which sponsors projects begun and run by older adults. Shows how policy can assist the evolution of seniors' activities and can help seniors play active parts in society. Discusses the cost and benefits of such a program. (Author/ABB)

NativeSUN, an enterprise to install solar energy systems on Hopi and Navajo reservations, is the star project of the Hopi Foundation, a home-grown nonprofit organization that fosters self-sufficiency and culturally compatible development in Hopi communities. Other projects include preservation of ceremonial Clan houses, support for indigenous…

Discusses how cultural vitality drives successful community development. Links cultural, community, and environmental values. Examines successes and failures of programs attempting to link culture and development in Panama, Ecuador, and Colombia. Examines role of cultural self-examination for creating new development paradigm. Examines prospects…

The Fundacion Social, a grassroots organization in Colombia, uses profits from its 14 companies to fund community self-help initiatives aimed at eliminating poverty. Social programs focus on community integration, microbusinesses, recycling, education, and communication. The organization seeks to eliminate structural poverty and is currently…

The paper describes a successful effort at collaboration among a college reading program, a neighborhood self-help agency, and a public school. The three-way partnership was formed to improve the literacy levels of 12 behaviorally disturbed children in the fifth and sixth grades. The project involves whole language reading instruction and…