Surviving Poverty: Creating Sustainable Ties Among the Poor

302 Pages·2017·4.5 MB·English

by  Joan Maya Mazelis

Surviving P overty

Surviving Poverty
Creating Sustainable Ties among the Poor
Joan Maya Mazelis
NEW Y ORK UNIVERS ITY P RESS
New York
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York
www.nyupress.org
© 2017 by New York University
All rights reserved
References to Internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the
author nor New York University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or
changed since the manuscript was prepared.
ISBN: 978-1-4798-7359-3 (hardback)
ISBN: 978-1-4798-7008-0 (paperback)
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Also available as an ebook
Dr. Steven Shapiro, my English teacher during my senior year of high
school, once told me, “Whatever you decide to do in life, make sure
that it matters, and that it matters to you.” I dedicate this book to
Nancy Brook (Jacobs) LaFrenz (1974– 2005) and to Joe Cytrynbaum
(1972– 2009), for reminding me what matters.
And to Amelia and Sam, and to all the children of the study
participants whose stories appear in this book: may the world grow
kinder, and may we all work together to make it so.

Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction: Social Ties among the Poor in an Era of
Unprecedented Inequality 1
1. Keep Working to Be What You Want: The Power
of Individualism 27
2. I Stay to Myself: Avoidance of Social Ties 59
3. The Only Way We’re Going to Survive: Social Ties as a
Survival Strategy 91
4. What Goes around Comes Around: Reciprocity in a
Poor People’s Social Network 120
5. Our Strength Is in Our Unity: Sustainable Social Ties 144
Conclusion: Creating Change on the Outskirts of Hope 165
Appendix: Research Design, Methods, and Data Analysis 195
Notes 219
References 255
Index 273
About the Author 283
vii

Preface
On December 16, 2003, activists from the Kensington Welfare Rights
Union (KWRU) stage a protest outside the mayor’s office in Philadel-
phia’s City Hall to demand “Homes for the Holidays.” People gather at
4 p.m. and stay for several hours. Singing Christmas carols, the activists
share food one of them has made and brought for dinner— they scoop
the bean stew into small plastic bowls and pass them throughout the
crowd, making sure the many children present eat first. Someone passes
out bread. A leader calls on people individually to tell their stories. Each
one of them says she is a homeless member of the Kensington Welfare
Rights Union. The leader tells them never to be ashamed of their home-
lessness. The group sings more Christmas carols, and then someone
brings out a cake; it is one of the children’s birthdays. Another leader
begins to sing a song:
I went down to the rich man’s house, I took back what he stole from
me. . . . I took my humanity, took back my dignity . . .
The children and activists join in and the group begins to sing the verse
again, with a slight variation:
I went down to the mayor’s house, I took back what he stole from me. . . .
I took my humanity, took back my dignity . . .
Soon administrators agree to meet with the homeless individuals,
one at a time, and ask them questions. One member tells me they ask
her things like, “How long have you been homeless?” “Where are you
staying now?” “How many kids do you have? “Why are you homeless?”
Eventually administrators offer to put people, for that night, into shel-
ters, but KWRU leaders say that is unacceptable, that their numbers in-
clude some domestic violence victims who can’t be safe in shelters, and
ix