000005333 001__ 5333
000005333 005__ 20240523053944.0
000005333 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.6082/uchicago.5333
000005333 037__ $$aTHESIS$$bThesis
000005333 041__ $$aeng
000005333 245__ $$aFulfilling the Needs of Reentry: The Provision of Social Support in Social Service Environments
000005333 260__ $$bUniversity of Chicago
000005333 269__ $$a2022-06
000005333 336__ $$aThesis
000005333 502__ $$bB.A.
000005333 520__ $$aFaced with discrimination and isolation across society, ex-convicts are often left with few options to support themselves other than resorting to crime again. This study investigates what forms of social support are beneficial in the context of reentry, and how support can ameliorate ex-convicts’ outcomes. Social service organizations are some of the only places to which ex- convicts can consistently turn for both material and psychological support; however, there is little sociological research investigating the perspectives of the staff that provide this support. This study uses semi-structured interviews with nine social service staff to investigate their perspectives in providing this support, and compares such perspectives with the literature on social support in reentry, to produce a more comprehensive picture of social support. Staff viewed the support they provide in direct relation to the systemic barriers faced by their clients. Organizations provided expressive (emotional) support to support their clients in the short term, stopping illicit actions at moments of crisis, and in the long-term, repairing their self-esteem and giving them hope. They also provided instrumental (material) support, helping their clients access services while also building up organic support and setting up their clients’ mentality for long-term success. Many of these forms of support are consistent with existing literature: staff generally described the forms and effects of social support the same way as the literature. However, these perspectives also advance existing literature by: investigating ex-convict outcomes other than recidivism, analyzing the similarities between formal and informal support environments, and finding that many forms of support benefit multiple outcomes for ex-convicts.
000005333 6531_ $$asocial support
000005333 6531_ $$aincarceration
000005333 6531_ $$asociology
000005333 6531_ $$areentry
000005333 6531_ $$adiscrimination
000005333 6531_ $$ascoial service
000005333 690__ $$aSocial Sciences Division
000005333 690__ $$aThe College
000005333 691__ $$aSociology
000005333 691__ $$aSocial Sciences
000005333 7001_ $$aNorwitt, Jonah$$uUniversity of Chicago
000005333 72012 $$aWaldo Johnson
000005333 8564_ $$9e8e9e620-fa08-4183-b19b-3c6394befd27$$s1608503$$uhttps://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/5333/files/Undergrad%20Sociology%20-%20Jonah%20Norwitt.pdf$$ePublic
000005333 8564_ $$9f984855b-6fe7-4274-a5f4-d3943de8aa77$$s660896$$uhttps://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/5333/files/Approval.pdf$$erestricted_admin
000005333 908__ $$aI agree
000005333 909CO $$ooai:uchicago.tind.io:5333$$pGLOBAL_SET$$pTheses
000005333 983__ $$aThesis