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.…

SHE is a rural California home building corporation founded on the principles of self-help. Lacking sufficient capital to purchase or finance a home by conventional means, a low-income family may elect to "self-construct with SHE". A participant family agrees to invest its labor, up to 1,500 hours, in the supervised construction of its…

A non-profit program based in Washington State that promotes access to college for low income groups/welfare recipients is described, along with results of research on the program. The H.O.M.E (Helping Ourselves Means Education) program is designed to help welfare recipients leave the welfare system by entering educational institutions. Additional…

Because students spend only 19% of their time each year in school, families and schools need to focus jointly on "the 81% solution" to improve learning beyond the school day and year. This paper discusses examples of the 81% solution that are being implemented in a variety of communities by the LINCT (Learning and Information Networking for…

Self-help among low-income people is vitally important. In no area is self-help more important than in overcoming poverty's burdens and energizing the escape from poverty. This document comprises an inventory of self-help and mutual-help programs that feature active involvement of members of the low-income population. The programs in this…