How Older Latino Immigrants Make Ends Meet through Friends and Acquaintances in a Low-income Neighborhood

• In Event: 4412 - Section on Latino/a Sociology Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 01. Latina/o/xs and Place through the Lifespan

Abstract

We know little about Latino immigrant seniors and how they grapple with the challenges of growing old. This knowledge gap exists despite the fact that immigrant seniors face a unique set of obstacles that sets them apart from younger immigrants. Indeed, immigrant seniors are more likely than younger immigrants to have repeated interactions with the US healthcare industry, to live on limited fixed budgets, and manage end of life issues. Additionally, few ethnographic studies exist on the experiences of low-income older Latino immigrants and their agency in gathering resources through institutional and social networks to survive in changing urban communities. Drawing on eighteen months of intense ethnographic research in an ethnic enclave near New York City, as well as over sixty-five in-depth interviews, this study explores the role of friends/non-kin in helping older Latinos gain access to social, financial and health resources. The paper focuses on three vignette’s gathered from the research study in order to demonstrate how older Latino immigrants develop a social support network that facilitates resource sharing in a manner that allows them to keep financial pressures at bay. Given that a majority of the participants rely on 600-700 dollars of social security income to survive monthly, these networks provide extra income and allow older immigrants the opportunity to derive purpose from their informal work in the community.

Author

• Melanie Z. Plasencia, University of California-Berkeley