The Economic Opportunity Act was created to address POVERTY.
The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 was the main Act of the "War on Poverty", a legislation introduced in the 1960s aiming to help end the poverty in the U.S. and make society more just and equitable. At the same time, War on Poverty was a major element of the "Great Society" legislative agenda of the President Lyndon Johnson's term (1963-69).
The act provided funds for job training, adult education, and loans to small businesses to attack the roots of unemployment and poverty. To achieve this, it established over a thousand of Community Action Agencies at the local level to implement its programs and required poor people to participate in their planning process as well.