The Power and Potency of Social Capital

Al Condeluci, MSW, PhD, Brain Injury Professional magazine

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There are many other issues that might impact social capital when associated with disability. Along with the narrowness of exposure and the tendency to congregate people who have disabilities, the notion of basic physical issues and architectural barriers often preclude participation.

Many brain injuries bring associated physical disabilities and this creates a variety of problems. First might be the attendant needs of the person. It is hard to expect a developing friendship to sustain some of the personal care needs. Indeed, any family caretaker will tell you how exhausting it is to take the most routine of trips into the community.

In some cases where individuals require wheelchairs or other mobility devices the simple elements of access might be mitigated by a curb or staircase. The sheer time demands that follow can also compromise a simple trip to a restaurant or theater.

Beyond all of these issues are stark behavioral manifestations that can also be a part of the brain injury reality. An outburst or narrow perspective that might be a new reality for the person who has a brain injury can wreak havoc on any community outing.

Clearly the challenges of engaging community and building relationships are difficult at best and any person reading these words who has been on a community outing with a person who has physical or behavioral manifestations related to brain injury can offer testimony. Still, we must try. In a simple equation, if treatment or clinical intervention can not change the person, then the target of action must shift to the community.

Actions for Consideration

So, knowing what we do about community and social capital, what directions, actions, and new approaches might we consider in Brain Injury Rehabilitation? To this end I want to suggest some key adjustments and shifts in perspective that are much more from a macro framework than from a micro or clinical approach that the field currently uses to achieve its goals.

First we must understand that social capital is a cornerstone issue in experiencing success in the broader aspects of community. More than therapy or programs, friends provide the fulcrum in the following areas:

• Most people get jobs in the community via their social capital. In fact, one recent study found that 71% of respondents to a vocational rehabilitation survey reported that they got their first job through a friend or family member. In fact, we all know that the best way to get a new or better job is through your social networks — your social capital. Certainly, even if you find a job on your own, you still need to list references — friends that will vouch for you. Social capital is closely tied to vocational success, not only in getting but in keeping jobs as well. Most people lose jobs not because they cannot do the work, but because they have difficulty fitting into the social fabric.
• Housing is another area where social capital is critical. Most people reading these words are probably living with someone they chose from their social network. In fact, social capital is an absolute for people — no one, unless he or she is in an institutional model, lives with someone he or she has not chosen. Yet, most people with disabilities find themselves in housing “programs” where their roommates are selected for them by an agency, program, or case manager.
• Finally, transportation, the key to our ability to get around the community, is closely aligned with social capital. Unless you are poor or institutionalized you probably ride in your own car, and if your car breaks down, you call a friend.

Clearly the more social capital you have the better your chances for getting a job, finding someone to live with, and getting a ride. Social capital is directly related to the key goals that people with disabilities report that they want from systems. But there is more.

If you push the outcomes discussion to a higher level, and think about the most important quality of life indicators known to people in general, we find that again, social capital is directly connected as well. When sociologists ask people to identify the most important things they want for the people they love the top three answers are health, happiness, and longevity. These three things — health, happiness, and longevity — are the highest measure of life success - for all people.

To this end, studies over the past 40 years show clearly that our health, happiness, and longevity are all enhanced by our social capital. Quite simply, the more relationships in your life, the healthier you are, the happier you are — and listen to this — the longer you live.

So the facts are clear: The very things that people with disabilities want from the human service system can and are enhanced by social capital. Yet the very notion of social capital has not at all been embraced or understood by these very systems that relate to people with disabilities. In fact, we don’t even know the extent of social isolation (except in anecdotal ways) that people with disabilities experience.

So what does all of this mean for us? Clearly, if we want to see people with disabilities be more successful in community outcomes, we must start with a shift in perspective and consider the power and potency of relationships. To this extent I recommend the following key actions:

• We have to shift from a micro perspective where we look at the dysfunction of disability and begin to understand and build competence in the macro notion of community. All people have things that make them engaging. Let’s stop trying to “fix” people and start trying to connect them to the community via their affinities.
• We need to define community and understand the key elements related to community building. Most of us in human services give lip service to community but have not really explored the elements, notions, and aspects associated with it. We must try to shed our “clinical bent” and think more anthropological.
• We must appreciate that all social capital starts with basic affinities and commonalities that people have. These affinities or cultural commonalities are the first step to community and relationships When people begin to embrace that which is common, they begin to dismiss the differences that can get in the way.
• We need to explore community and find the places of association where people share their affinities. All communities are rich in assets and opportunities. We all want to gather around the things we like, and these gatherings offer the start point for our social capital.