Pathway of Hope began in The Salvation Army’s USA Central Territory in 2010 with a bold goal to double the impact of emergency assistance programs using existing resources. A territorial survey revealed that only 10% of assistance offered addressed root cause issues, and there was a growing desire for change. The USA Central Territory was seeking an innovative strategic initiative that could break the cycle of poverty and have a lasting impact.

Consultation took place with external organizations to understand what interventions had been effective to break the cycle of poverty. In addition, research studies were reviewed to learn more about poverty alleviation projects.

The result of all this work was Pathway of Hope: a specified approach to providing strengths-based case management to people with a desire to take action to break the cycle of poverty.

Following its inception in the USA Central Territory the initiative was adopted by USA National Headquarters and has since been rolled out in all four of The Salvation Army's USA territories.Pathway of Hope began in the Canada and Bermuda Territory with a pilot project in the Greater Toronto Area in 2016. Due to the success of the pilot the initiative is now being strategically advanced in the Canada and Bermuda Territory. Pathway of Hope is an important initiative of the Canada and Bermuda Territory's "Mobilize" Strategic Priorities. The Integrated Mission Priority (#4) provides the objective to have Pathway of Hope implemented in all 9 divisions by the end of 2020.