THE PENNSYLVANIA FAMILY ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY PROJECT

The Pennsylvania Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Project (PAFESS) is a collaborative effort of more that 2,600 stakeholders from state and local organizations and government agencies that are part of the economic development, social welfare, job training and education communities in Pennsylvania.  The Pennsylvania Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Project helps low-income families build paths out of poverty by providing vital resources, training and advocacy that offer realistic ways in which self-sufficiency can be achieved. The Pennsylvania Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Project coordinates: Development and publication of resource information and tools for both advocacy and direct services utilization including The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Pennsylvania, The Self-Sufficiency Budget Worksheet, When Wages Aren't Enough II, Paths to Self-Sufficiency, The Human Resources Packet, New Voices II and The Delaware County Sector Employment Intervention Project Technical Report. To learn more about PAFESS resources and tools, or to access them online click here. Provision of training on the concept of self-sufficiency, The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Pennsylvania, The Budget Worksheet and other topics related to assisting low-income families and individuals attain economic independence. For more information or to schedule training, please email the PAFESS trainer at eloperbey@pathwayspa.org. Advocacy with and on behalf of low-income persons, both individually and collectively. The project provides personalized assistance to families and individuals as well as intervention with social systems and institutions through legislative and regulatory advocacy. Community economic development activities including participating in Sector research and development. For more information on economic research, please email the Project Manager at jpatterson@pathwayspa.org. Statewide and regional information meetings on policies,services, and legislation affecting low-income persons. Nationally, this project is coordinated by Wider Opportunities for Women in partnership with the Corporation for Enterprise Development, and the Ms. Foundation for Women. In Pennsylvania, this project is convened by the PathWaysPA (formerly Women's Association for Women's Alternatives-W.A.W.A.) as one of twenty-six projects nationwide; Executive Director, Carol Goertzel. The Pennsylvania Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Project supports six strategies for helping low-income families move toward economic independence. These strategies are:   The Self-Sufficiency Standard   Targeting Higher-Wage Employment   Nontraditional Employment for Women   Functional Context Education   Microenterprise Training and Development   Individual Development Accounts, also called Family Savings   Accounts For more information on the six strategies, visit our national project coordinator, Wider Opportunities for Women, at www.sixstrategies.org. To learn more about The Pennsylvania Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Project, please contact the Project Director, Jacquie Patterson, by telephone 610/543-5022 or by email at jpatterson@pathwayspa.org.