The Women's Educational and Vocational Enrichment program (WEAVE) has been conducted in two poor sections of Boston to help women move from dependence on welfare to gainful employment. Most of the women served by the program are black and most have not finished high school. About 42 percent of the women have never had paid employment, while most of the others have had only low-skill, low-paying jobs for short periods of time. The program begins with approximately three months of daily education, which focuses on building confidence and building peer support networks as well as building skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and problem solving. By discussing possible obstacles to learning publicly, the women begin to see these as shared problems, rather than individual ones. They unlearn old habits and develop new strategies for coping. At the end of three months, most women are ready to move on to the second phase of WEAVE's program, which combines continued Internship Programs; office jobs at social service agencies where the women feel comfortable. The women continue classes to get their high school diplomas. This part of the program is contracted for with the Commonwealth Service Corps. Successful completion of the program prepares the women to move on to a real job. (KC)