It is important to remember that people are always people-in-relationships and never just people-by-themselves. A focus on individuals as the unit of analysis and the unit of intervention always includes some disruption of relationships for better and worse, and some creation of new relationships for better and worse.

For the kind of poverty you are interested in, how important is job search, education and training (including "soft" skills), job related problem solving?

What are the major points of access to jobs? What about starting a small business?

Do people in the kind of poverty you are interested in need direct advocacy and support to find and hold jobs. Do they need legislative advocacy to change job access and job retention?

For the kind of poverty you are interested in, how important is it to gain employment and how important is it to provide benefits and services because income from employment is unlike to meet basic needs?

For the kind of poverty you are interested in, what kinds of benefits and services are most needed, and who should provide such benefits and services?

For the kind of poverty you are interested in, how important are institutionalized benefits and services in contrast to referral services and informal community networking.

What are the trade-offs between government run and and non-profit run services, understanding that many non-profits receive both government and charity income? Who should be involved in care coordination and what processes should be established for care coordination?

What matters most for helping individuals who are experiencing the kind of poverty in which you are interested?

What kind of changes are needed in communities, in governments, in organizations, in businesses, to reduce or ameliorate the kind of poverty you are interested in? What are the best strategies for achieving such change? Give your attention in this homework to the kinds of organizing that does not include political issue advocacy or political reform or political electoral work. Are you likely to be able to gain meaningful access to decision makers without public pressure? Who should be the voice negotiating for change? What kind of education or empowerment or experience is needed to increase effectiveness?