The impact of gang violence on the decisions of everyday life: disjunctions about policy assumptions and community conditions

The effects of gang violence on the decisions regarding caregiving and work provided by welfare recipients are examined. All 56 participants live in an inner city public housing development in Chicago where 49% are living under the poverty line. Results indicate that aspirations for employment and improved living standards are given up by mothers if they interfere with the healthy development of their children in the violence-infested neighborhood.