The document describes the Changes Project, a participatory action research project conducted by adult learners at five adult literacy and education programs in Western Massachusetts. It is a 3-year project aimed at examining the impact of welfare reform, immigration reform, and the changing workplace on adult learners. The Changes Project is significant for four reasons: (1) through the use of participatory action research, it brings knowledge of adult learners into the national conversation about welfare and immigration reforms and the changing workplace; (2) by developing a model for understanding the complexity of the lives of adult learners affected by these issues, it broadens the discussion of the impact of these three issues; (3) the report describes the ways in which adult learners are resilient and proactive in the face of often difficult and challenging circumstances posed by these reforms and changes; and (4) the report can serve as a guide for learners and practitioners to learn and teach about issues of importance in their own lives and communities, and find ways to shape policies that affect them. It is concluded that such reforms and changes have made life more difficult for these adult learners, because detailed and intelligible information about the reforms can be hard to come by, work requirements make it harder to stay in school, and good jobs with promotion potential and benefits are increasingly difficult to get without sufficient skills and the English language skills that come with more schooling. Recommendations are made for learners, the educational community, employers, and legislators; the methodology is fully explained; and five appendices on site sections, references, survey instruments, a Mother's Day letter project, and theater pieces are included. (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education) (Contains 42 references.) (KFT)