Pursuing the Dream

How and why do some disadvantaged American families manage to stay together and become self-reliant despite the grip of overwhelming poverty? 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 neighborhoods.