Getting out and giving back: repertoires of destigmatization in the private social safety net.

This article examines how recipients of social services in two majority Black neighborhoods in Houston, Texas, navigate and mitigate the stigma associated with receiving assistance amid the privatization of the social safety net. Drawing on 15 months of ethnographic observation and 44 interviews, the study identifies two primary destigmatization strategies: "getting out," which involves traveling outside one's neighborhood to access services anonymously, and "giving back," where recipients volunteer at the same organizations from which they receive aid to transform stigmatizing spaces into more affirming ones. The research highlights that stigma is racialized and gendered, disproportionately affecting Black women, who more frequently employ these strategies despite their associated costs in time and resources. By focusing on the spatial and temporal dimensions of destigmatization, the study contributes to understanding how symbolic resources shape patterns of social service utilization and the agency of marginalized populations within stigmatizing welfare systems.