Social Capital: Benefiting you and helping end homelessness
March 5, 2019
Who do you call when your car leaves you stranded.… and you’re not sure how you’ll manage repair costs into your budget? Perhaps it’s your co-worker whose husband is a mechanic and he comes to lend a hand, free of charge. Your college-aged son is looking for an internship opportunity and so you make a few phone calls to some colleagues and help him land a position. Your friend experiences a serious illness and you use your social connections to help her navigate appointments or help with the children.
You’re able to get through the crises and challenges of life because of the support network you’ve accumulated over the years through various friends, relatives, colleagues, and experiences. This is your Social Capital.
Social capital is mutual, social relationships which are used to connect to quality resources and opportunities. For those living in the middle class, social capital is often defined by social connections. But for many living in poverty, it is having access to vital, tangible supports. Families facing homelessness often lack these supports and connections or they may have exhausted their networks. When these resources have been exhausted or are nonexistent, homelessness may become inevitable.
At Bridge of Hope, we are leveraging social capital every day as part of the solution to ending family homelessness. You can help.
To learn more watch this brief video on social capital.