About IWOWS
A movement for people who want out of poverty and into the middle class
IWOWS — I Want Out of the Welfare System — is powered by Ideal Education, a New Jersey nonprofit advancing community, economic, and workforce development through education, employment, entrepreneurship, paid work-based learning, and cooperative ownership.
To help individuals, families, and communities move from poverty and public dependency into middle-class stability by creating integrated pathways through education, employment, entrepreneurship, paid work-based learning, support services, and community ownership.
A nation where every person who wants out of the welfare system has access to the education, income, work experience, support, and ownership opportunities needed to enter and remain in the middle class.
Founder's vision
Ren Parikh
Founder, Ideal Education & Ideal Institute of Technology
“Education must directly create economic transformation. It should not end with a certificate — it should lead to income, real work, employer connections, business creation, family stability, and ownership.”
We do what we teach.
What IWOWS believes
Seven beliefs that shape the work
What we believe first
Public assistance should be a bridge, not a permanent identity.
People should not have to choose between learning and earning.
Training must connect to real work, portfolios, and employer relationships.
Families need wraparound support to stay on the pathway.
Benefit cliffs must be planned for carefully, never triggered abruptly.
Entrepreneurship is a legitimate mobility pathway.
Communities must own the solutions — stores, services, and cooperatives.
Help build the pathway
Help build a national pathway out of poverty
Funders, policymakers, employers, schools, and community leaders — help expand this model in New Jersey and beyond.