“Tips Encased in Dignity”: Reach UP Magazine’s Approach to Serving Women Facing Hardship

A magazine cannot provide housing, guarantee employment, or replace counseling. But David and Crystal Knapp believe print can reinforce the work of organizations helping women navigate poverty, incarceration, and recovery. In their interview with PSI TV host Dr. Trudy Beerman, they explained how Reach UP Magazine delivers practical information and encouragement through agencies already serving those readers.

Crystal Wacker Knapp is the publication’s founder and editor-in-chief; David Knapp serves as director of development and contributing writer. According to its published history, Reach UP debuted in December 2007 after Crystal’s years living and working in East New York, Brooklyn helped her identify a gap in resources for women facing difficult circumstances.

A Resource That Stays With the Reader

David described Reach UP’s role as complementing agencies that address immediate physical needs. He identified hopelessness, low self-esteem, and difficulty envisioning a different future as challenges the publication seeks to address.

He also cautioned against assuming that financial hardship necessarily results from personal wrongdoing. Women find themselves in poverty, he said, “and it’s not always because they have made serious mistakes in their life.”

Crystal emphasized reinforcement. A woman may hear useful information in a class without retaining everything, while a printed resource offers another opportunity to encounter the lesson. As she explained, “we are another voice saying the same thing.”

These comments describe the Knapps’ approach to encouragement, rather than establishing the causes of poverty or demonstrating measurable outcomes. Reach UP presents its magazine as a supplemental resource alongside services such as food assistance, shelter, counseling, and recovery support.

Reaching Readers Through Agencies

Crystal said a conventional subscription model was poorly suited to the women she hoped to reach. Based on her experience, some potential readers moved frequently or distrusted institutions, making agency partnerships a more practical route.

The magazine therefore works through organizations serving women in settings including food assistance, incarceration, pregnancy counseling, and addiction recovery. The approach puts material into existing service relationships rather than requiring each reader to discover and purchase a subscription.

Reach UP’s current ordering policy allows nonprofits to request up to 1,000 English or Spanish copies per quarter without required payment. Organizations can voluntarily help cover printing or shipping; larger requests require direct discussion. The policy preserves access while acknowledging the costs of producing and delivering the publication.

Practical Content, Personal Stories, and Faith

The editorial range extends from difficult life experiences to everyday tasks such as doing laundry. Crystal summarized the intention as passing along “tips encased in dignity.”

First-person stories are central to that approach. Crystal described accounts that acknowledge painful experiences without smoothing away their complexity. During the interview, Beerman observed that readers may recognize their own circumstances in another woman’s story and see possibilities for their own next steps.

Reach UP’s published guidance favors contributors with firsthand understanding of hardship. It also identifies the magazine as grounded in a Christian worldview, while noting that not every article is devotional. Crystal said she preserves writers’ references to faith when those experiences are part of their stories.

An Invitation to Business Leaders

Addressing PSI TV’s business audience, David explained that financial support helps supply agencies with magazines. Crystal encouraged employers to consider women rebuilding their lives, including those who may need patience and opportunities to develop skills.

For publishers and organizational leaders, the interview illustrates a specific distribution choice: create material around a defined audience and collaborate with organizations already positioned to reach it. The Knapps’ account explains that strategy; it does not establish employment or poverty-reduction results.

Organizations considering participation can review magazine issues, distribution requirements, and support options at ReachUpMag.org.