Step by Step was founded nine years ago by Pat Merle and Margy Mayk, who felt a call to use their gifts and strengths to work with women in poverty. Women who were incarcerated had the time and the lack of distraction to focus better on the content of our workshops. The heart of our program is a series of 8 week workshops that focus on the life stories of women and the gifts and strengths that can be found in these stories. We believe that for oppressed women, it is much more helpful to come from a strength-based perspective, than a problem focused one. The women tend to be well aware of their problems, but often feel they do not have the strength or the esteem to do anything about the chaos in their lives.