Higher ground new hope for the working poor and their children provides a detailed background of the many obstacles encountered by the working poor and how the new hope program intended and its ability to eradicate these obstacles the book articulates an important social phenomenon in a way that would intrigue and enlighten social policy makers and well versed academics as well as an interested reader without any previous sociological knowledge one of the most captivating aspects of the . In a concentrated effort to address the problems of the working poor a coalition of community activists and business leaders in milwaukee wisconsin launched new hope an experimental program that boosted employment among the citys poor while reducing poverty and improving childrens lives in higher ground greg duncan aletha huston and thomas weisner provide a compelling look at how new hope can serve as a model for national anti poverty policies new hope was a social contract . In a concentrated effort to address the problems of the working poor a coalition of community activists and business leaders in milwaukee wisconsin launched new hope an experimental program. Higher ground new hope for the working poor and their children by greg j duncan aletha c huston and thomas s weisner russell. Higher ground new hope for the working poor and their children by greg j duncan aletha c huston and thomas s weisner new york russell sage foundation 2007 166 pp isbn 978 0 87154 325 7 2495 cloth higher ground joins a growing literature de picting the lives of economically disadvantaged