Social support in the urban safety net: Assessing tie activation among individuals with complex care needs

Activating social ties is a critical mechanism for satisfying individuals’ social, emotional, and material needs. Researchers have offered a number of hypotheses around tie activation about when and why particular supporters step in to help, ranging from strategic activation via functional specificity to opportunistic mobilization. To date, few studies have examined multiple tie activation strategies in tandem. This project focuses on people facing complex, compounding health and social problems, who may have to rely on multiple forms of activation to get their support needs met. We draw on a sample of 92 participants who are affiliated with one of two Care Management programs in the Western United States. Using name generators in a survey, we elicit participants’ social networks and find they utilize a number of methods to secure critical support needs, including calling on kin ties to borrow money and help with daily tasks, relying on strong and proximal ties for almost all types of support, and using functional specificity for health support. We then draw on qualitative interviews to gain a deeper understanding of the ways alters provide support and why egos elicit support from some alters and not others. Future research should continue assessing this population’s social networks with the aim of leveraging social support to help manage chronic conditions, provide access to resources, and increase their sense of belonging.