Social Capital, Mutual Aid and Desistance: A Theoretically Integrated Process Model.

This article examines a veteran-specific mutual aid initiative aimed at supporting desistance from crime and substance misuse through building positive social capital. Using qualitative data from a longitudinal evaluation of five UK-based mutual aid groups, the study identifies three key subjective realignments among veterans linked to the mobilization of bonding (micro-level), bridging (meso-level), and linking (macro-level) social capital, corresponding to relational desistance frameworks. The mutual aid model, characterized by reciprocal support and collective goal-setting, facilitated veterans' transitions from isolation to mutual acceptance, from apathy to purposeful engagement, and from disenfranchisement to active citizenship. The authors present a theoretically informed social capital-building process model that highlights how structured group dynamics can foster social reintegration and sustained desistance, with potential applicability to broader (ex-) offender populations.