When our church announced it was holding a “Poverty Simulation” my husband and I signed up. The simulation’s purpose is to provid insight into the life of a person living in poverty.
Poverty Simulation Pre-Test
After a brief introduction from the facilitator, all the participants took a pre-test to see how we identify with a low-income or poverty level person.
Did we know what the acronyms SNAP, WIC and EBT stood for? Had we ever heard of them? The test also included statements that were divided into 3 sections – Living in Poverty, Living in the Middle Class and Living in the Upper Class. We were instructed to place checkmarks next to the ones that applied to us. I only checked two in the poverty section, which really had nothing to do with poverty for me. Most of my check marks were in the middle-class section.
The clients I had worked with when my husband and I volunteered for a transitional housing program would have checked most of the statements in the poverty section. Going into the simulation, I felt I understood some of a low-income person’s hardships. I had a lot to learn.
Four 15 Minutes Weeks
As we walked into the ‘neighborhood’ each participant received a name tag. They intentionally assigned roles that did not match the participant’s age and/or gender. I was a 57-year-old man on disability, living with his son, daughter-in-law and teenage grandson. The role of my son was assigned to a woman, and my daughter-in-law was a man.
We found our ‘home’ and reviewed the information in the packet about our family circumstances. My son was the only one in the family with a full-time job. My grandson had a part-time job. We rented our home.
All of the ‘homes’ were in the center of the room. The community resources were at tables around the perimeter. They were identified with signs such as Food-A-Rama, Employment Center, Transportation Center, and Big Dave’s Pawn Shop.
We simulated four weeks living as our new identities. Each week lasted 15 minutes. During that time, we paid bills, bought food, cashed checks, went to work and/or school and tried to make sure we had enough transportation passes. We needed transportation passes to go anywhere.
Participants with a full-time job had to go to the General Employer within the first 3 minutes, or they would not have work that week. If they arrived on time, they sat on a chair for seven minutes to simulate work. However, if the check-in line was long, and you didn’t sign in before the 3-minute timer went off, you were not paid. Also, if something happened that stopped you from getting there at all, you didn’t get paid that week.
If you forgot to buy groceries, you received a red card, for being malnourished. If you forgot to pay the utilities, you received a shutoff notice. And if you didn’t pay rent, you received an eviction notice.
During the simulation, I felt frantic, stressed and confused. I wanted to think about which bills our family should be paying and how we could get more money, but we didn’t have time. We had to pay what we could and keep going. Since the simulation is designed to frustrate and bring on stress, it was a success.
Sharing Our Experience
At the end of the four 15-minute weeks, the entire group talked about how they were feeling during the simulation and what they had learned.
A woman in her 80’s, who had been assigned the role of a homeless 18-year-old single mother of a toddler, confessed that she had left her ‘child’ at day-care twice and had to go to the police station to get her. She said she was trying to get work and pay bills and just forgot the child. She was visibly moved when she talked about what she learned.
The man who had run the Community Action Center said that no one asked for help. He had vouchers for transportation passes and utility assistance. As a part of the simulation, we were not told we could ask for help. Like a person in that situation, we needed to find out on our own.
One group that had received a ‘Luck of the Draw’ card talked about how they thought they were going to make it. Pay all the bills and buy all the necessary items before the end of the simulation, when they received a card indicating car trouble. They no longer had transportation.
My husband became a 19-year-old single mother, living with her boyfriend, who was not her child’s father. During the month, he never bought groceries, left his baby at childcare and had to pick him up from the police station. He was homeless by the end.
Going Beyond The Simulation
The Poverty Simulation gave us insight into the lives of people we worked with at the transitional housing program. It also gave us a new perspective when in line behind someone buying groceries with more than one type of assistance. But, this was only a simulation and we went back to our comfortable life when it was over. A person living in poverty doesn’t have that option.
You don’t know what someone is going through. You don’t know where they have been and what happened to them. We are all God’s children and we need to help each other.
Check out The Poverty Simulation for more information.
For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
Matthew 25 35-36 NLT
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