Networks of Social Support to Manage Poverty: More Changeable than Durable

This article focuses on the durability and changeability of networks of social support to manage poverty from a life-course perspective. Drawing on interviews with members of 20 families, the authors explore networks’ origins and changes, the sources of support, and types of supports exchanged. The authors find networks to manage poverty are more likely to be in flux than durable. Intersecting transitions over life courses and shifting availability of supports from community and the welfare state require family members to be open to change in support relations. The management of poverty is multifaceted and challenged by the malleability of support networks.