NORTHFIELD, Mn, April 20, 2011 — As the debate rages about the level of investment for public support, it is wise to remember the value of private support. Private assistance helps people manage practical tasks.
This informal type of help is often referred to as “social support.”
Studies have shown that the most frequent helpers for low-income mothers are their mothers (Seiling, 2007).
The most common support for mothers is their mother. Photo by footlooseity.
With Mother’s Day approaching, this is a good time to remember to say ‘thank you.’
A recent longitudinal study of rural low-income families (recipients of public assistance, especially food assistance) looked at the relationships among their lives, the vitality of the rural communities where they live, and the impact of public policies directly affecting them and found:
Social support serves as an essential resource for rural low-income families and helps them access resources they need when other services were not available.
They also found that family and friends were the safety net for these families (Bauer & Katras, 2007). If you live in an area away from your familiy the role of friends is even more important.
Types of help people need (in order of most likely to least likely):
- Emergency child care
- Regular child care
- Emergency transportation
- Regular transportation
- Housework
- Food
- Cash
- Rent
In a complementary study called “Making It Work” low-income women were asked how often in the last month they received practical help and how many people they felt they could call on for help. Results varied greatly.
Number of people to call on for practical help:
- 2% had no one to call on for help
- 51% have between 1-5 people to help
- 18% have between 6-9 people to help
- 30% have more than 10 people to help
(Dolan, Seiling & Glesner, 2006)
The longer the list of people to call on for help, the more secure is a person’s “safety net.”
Build your private safety net. You never know what you might need. And Mom may not be home when you need her.
Please Comment: Who do you call for help? For what?
Photo Credit: footlooseity at flickr
For more information:
Bauer, J., and Katras, M.J., (August 2007). Rural Prosperity: A Longitudinal Study of Rural Communities and Rural Low-income Families.
Dolan, E.M., Seiling, S.B., & Glesner, T. (February 2006). Making it work: Rural low-income women in service jobs. Proceedings of the Eastern Family Economics and Resource Management Association Conference, Knoxville, TN, 38-46.
Seiling, S. (2007). Social Support Among Rural Low-Income Mothers: Who Helps and How Much?
Read more from Donna Rae Scheffert at Online-Leadership-Tools. She can also be found on LinkedIn and Twitter.
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