This season, we’re studying up on The Salvation Army’s Pathway of Hope—a national initiative to provide individualized services to families with children, addressing their immediate material needs and providing long-term engagement to stop the cycle of poverty. Last week, we discovered the one question that kicked off this initiative and how Pathway of Hope came to be. In the roughly 10 years since, The Salvation Army has carefully cultivated the ins and outs of the effort.  For those who provide social services, one of the biggest benchmarks or ways to demonstrate success is the measure of one’s self-sufficiency. But what is self-sufficiency, really? And how do you measure it?  As it turns out, it’s not only about economics—in fact, Psychological Self-Sufficiency and its components are key in reaching one’s goals. And one of those components, hope, is a driver, an anchor to be cultivated along the journey.  Dr. Philip Hong is the Founding Director of the Center for Research on Self-Sufficiency (CROSS) at Loyola University Chicago. That’s in addition to his roles as a professor, Associate Dean for Research and Director of the Doctoral Program. With CROSS, he’s been involved in studies of the Pathway of Hope as the center’s research focuses on the psychological empowerment process. As he’ll tell you, hope is psychological capital—a character trait that reflects the inner strength necessary to overcome barriers. EPISODE SHOWNOTES: Read more. WHAT’S YOUR CAUSE? Take our quiz. STUDY SCRIPTURE. Get inside the collection. GATHER WITH CARING MOMS. Join the group. BE INSPIRED. Follow us on Instagram. FIGHT FOR GOOD. Give to The Salvation Army.