Ties in Tough Times: How social capital helps lower-income Jewish parents weather the economic hardship of COVID-19

Abstract In this study, we examined how lower-income Jewish households in the Greater Philadelphia area fared in the five months following the start of COVID-19. We interviewed and surveyed 36 parents who self-identified as Jewish, had at least one school-age child, and had a household income of $75K or less. We looked at how social capital helped parents weather the economic hardship brought on by COVID-19. We argue that while bonding social capital could not help people with things like childcare or food preparation, it did help by facilitating linking social capital, which provided low-income parents material resources. While social ties can help parents get by in tough economic times and even weather-related disasters, it turns out the route social capital takes during a pandemic to provide its benefits is importantly different. We conclude by discussing how sheltering-in-place can threaten social capital.