“When You Got Friends in Low Places,You Stay Low”

Abstract

To examine access to needed resources among low-income methamphetamine-using females, we conducted interviews with 30 women living in poor suburban communities of a large southeastern metropolis. As an invisible population in the suburbs, underserved by social services, the women remain geographically and socially anchored to their poor suburban enclaves as transit, treatment, and education remain out of reach. The longitudinal study included three interviews over a two-year period. Resources needed by the women were identified in the first interview and a list of available services was provided to them. In subsequent interviews, we asked how they accessed the services or barriers encountered and discussed these further in focus groups. Using a social capital framework in our qualitative analysis, we identified three processes for accessing needed resources: formal, informal, and mediated. Implications for policymakers and social service providers are suggested, and models for future development proposed.