“You can run but you can't hide”: How formerly incarcerated young men navigate neighborhood risks

• We examine how young adult men of color navigate neighborhood risks.
• Major perceived risks include gangs, guns, and police.
• We locate various strategies to handle these risks.
• These strategies have a bearing on young men's overall well-being.

Young adult men who have spent time in the juvenile justice system, who are disproportionately young men of color, are at high risk for re-incarceration, violent victimization, and premature mortality. Different from their same-aged peers, the transition to adulthood among formerly incarcerated young men is often focused on economic and physical survival, rather than on exploration and gradual independence. In this paper, the authors use a qualitative, narrative methodology to examine formerly incarcerated young men's perceptions of neighborhood risks and the strategies that they use to navigate these risks in their daily lives. Seventeen formerly incarcerated young men from Los Angeles County, ages 19–24, participated in two in-depth interviews and a neighborhood mapping exercise. The authors find that perceptions of risks clustered around the major areas of gang violence, guns, and police presence. Strategies to contend with these risks fell into three main patterns: 1) avoiding dangers and diversions; 2) calculated risk taking; and 3) running and hiding. Each of these strategies entailed a set of consequences for the overall well-being of these young men. This paper is significant in that it reframes the discourse concerning a notoriously high risk group to one of a risky playing field in which every day decisions contribute to strategies for survival.