In a classroom filled with a steady, affirmative murmur of "mmm-hmm's" punctuated by the occasional shout of "You go, girlfriend!" Sonya J. Wilson opens her soul a peep.

With long ebony fingers partially obscuring her carefully made-up face, Wilson explains how she ended up at the Dorchester site of STRIVE, a private non-profit job training program for the unemployed.

Beginning at age 11, Wilson was sexually abused by her mother's boyfriend. She kept the secret to herself, living in fear of the boyfriend's rage.

When her mother died, Wilson went to live with her father but ran away shortly afterwards. She started hanging out with the wrong boys and lost her virginity at age 15. Two years later, she became pregnant and had nowhere to go, nowhere to live.

"I've been through hell," Wilson says.

Fast forward five years to Feb. 1998 and Wilson is standing before the class, crying about how much she wants to change her life.

"Whatever it takes, I'm going to do it," Wilson says.

So, as a last-ditch effort Wilson--like many in the Boston area struggling to avoid or leave the state's welfare rolls--has enrolled in STRIVE.

And with the implementation of Massachussets' stringent welfare work requirement and two-year time limit triggered by a 1996 federal welfare reform bill, there are more and more people looking for work.

Concerned that this flood of former welfare recipients and low-skilled workers may not be able to find steady jobs, many Boston communities are building safety nets to replace those lost after the federal reforms.

STRIVE for More

For three weeks, STRIVE gave Wilson a place to become and belong.

She and 11 others dressed in their corporate best, endured hours of lectures on proper behavior in the workplace and practiced scenario after sce- nario of interviews.

Executive Director Steven Berlack andInstructor David Sykes, who play the program'sgood and bad cops, do not put up with anything. Nochewing gum, no leather pants. No attitude.

The theory is simple. Long-term jobless peopleare out of touch with corporate culture and mustlearn the nuances--how to dress appropriately (inclass, nose-rings are forbidden, suits arerequired and Fridays are casual), what to say inan interview (even the body language of ahand-shake) and when to follow up the interviewwith a thank-you note (always).

While STRIVE purports to be a job trainingprogram, the underlying focus--attitudeadjustment--is apparent from day one.