President Johnson’s War on Poverty encountered significant opposition in southern states where impoverishment and race served to reinforce both social and economic systems. In Memphis, the War on Poverty underwent political attacks primarily aimed at neighborhood organizing. However, two agencies used Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) recruits to implement significant antipoverty initiatives. VISTAs developed a prisoner release–mentoring program and a pretrial release for indigent detainees who could not post bail. The Metropolitan Inter Faith Association recruited savvy local residents to design VISTA services for the poor. The latter drew on local volunteers and reflected a paternalistic approach rather than one that reflected the voice of the poor.