Ties in Tough Times: How Social Capital Helps Lower-Income Jewish Parents Weather the Economic Hardship of COVID-19

In this exploratory study, we examined how social ties helped lower-income Jewish parents in the Greater Philadelphia area weather the COVID-19 pandemic. We interviewed 36 parents who self-identified as Jewish, had at least one school-age child, and earned less than the median Jewish household income in the Philadelphia area. We analyzed the data through the lens of social capital, focusing on three forms: bonding, bridging, and linking social capital. Unlike in weather-related disasters, where social capital yields crucial physical help, the social distancing requirements of the COVID-19 pandemic changed how social capital functions. Parents with strong social ties in the Jewish community were able to connect to people and institutions of power, such as rabbis and Jewish organizations, who provided valuable material resources while families sheltered in place. We describe how people develop relational ties by doing something with and for a social group, and discuss how extended periods of social distancing can threaten the flow of social capital.