“Go It Alone” Poverty in a Small City: Pockets of Poor Housing, the Scrutiny of “Busybodies,” and Difficulty Accessing Support

Abstract

ABSTRACT From narratives of five women (who were leaving welfare for work and part of a larger ethnographic study), the author revisits interactions between welfare ideology, place and space, and women's choices regarding social isolation and help. Findings suggest that for these women pockets of poor housing across the small city aid in producing real and potential scrutiny by neighbors and difficulties accessing help from family and friends across town. Physical distance from family and friends create conditions for the women's belief in self-reliance. Close proximity to those who may be watching them creates conditions for the women to protect themselves from trouble and mediates how they look for and accept help.