Description: How and why do some disadvantaged American families manage to stay together and become self-reliant despite the grip of overwhelming poverty? "I have wandered the nether world of poverty for the past thirty years," writes Stephen Shames in his introduction to this book. "I wondered why do some poor children turn out fine while others fail so miserably. Isn't there something we can do as individuals, as neighbors, and as a nation to help poor children succeed?" Working for three years with the Chicago-based Family Resource Coalition, Shames, a noted documentary photographer, visited community programs in culturally diverse areas from Maine to Hawaii to record how community-based programs help families achieve financial and emotional stability. Here are inspirational stories, in the families' own words, about rebuilding strong relationships between husband and wife, parent and child, neighbor and neighborhood. One of the many examples in the book is a young father working with the Avance Family Support and Education Program in San Antonio: "I used to get mad and scream...Spank [the children] without even stopping and thinking about it. And then Avance showed me about this five-minute time out. You know, take a break and then come back....I learned how to communicate with my wife without getting mad and stomping around the house...Avance did a lot for us by making us realize that no goal is greater than what we feel towards each other and what we want to do later in the future." Pursuing the Dream is about successful and often daring community-based family support programs across America that enable families and their children to overcome devastating cycles of poverty, drugs, and violence. These are uplifting stories, in the families' own words, about recapturing love, achieving financial stability, and building supportive neighborhoods. Included is a statement from the Chicago Bulls on their commitment to community centers for the whole family.

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