How Poor People Build Community Amid Barriers to Inclusion

Joan Maya Mazelis, Associate Professor of Sociology Rutgers University-Camden

Like most Americans, people in poverty cling tightly to the belief that they should manage their struggles independently. For that reason, they frequently avoid social ties. Yet when these people do seek assistance, they may learn that personal failings alone do not cause poverty. Mazelis argues that, while there’s enormous need to strengthen the increasingly tattered public safety net, people can survive poverty with greater dignity and less loneliness when they come together in community. Mazelis is the author of the book Surviving Poverty: Creating Sustainable Ties among the Poor.