Fickle families and the kindness of strangers: Social capital in the lives of low-income single mothers

Robert L. Hawkins

doi:10.1080/10911350903183263

Fickle families and the kindness of strangers: Social capital in the lives of low-income single mothers

Robert L. Hawkins

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This article is a qualitative study that examines the social capital in the lives of 20 formerly homeless and nearly homeless single mothers with children in their care. The findings for this study indicate that the mothers' close social ties simultaneously served as a resource and a hindrance to their progress into sustainable work or education. Findings also show that nearly all of the women in this study benefited from "weak" ties by receiving information or other kinds of resources from strangers or friends of friends. Implications for policy and practice are also discussed.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	38-55
Number of pages	18
Journal	Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment
Volume	20
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/10911350903183263
State	Published - Jan 2010

Keywords

Homeless
Poverty
Single mothers
Social capital
Social networks
Welfare

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Anthropology
Social Sciences (miscellaneous)

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10.1080/10911350903183263

Cite this

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Fickle families and the kindness of strangers: Social capital in the lives of low-income single mothers

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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