Poverty Simulation

The simulation is designed to help people understand the realities of poverty. During a simulation, participants role-play the lives of low-income families, from single parents trying to care for their children to senior citizens trying to maintain their self sufficiency on Social Security. The task of each family is to provide food, shelter, and other basic necessities while interacting with various community resources. After recognizing the seriousness and depth of this problem, participants discuss the potential for change within the local community. Poverty simulations have been conducted locally for school district administrators and teachers, health and human service agency professionals, and various leaders within the community. During the simulation, questions are asked as an opportunity for the participants to realize that poverty is an intense struggle. When the question "How do you plan to handle your family’s current situation?" was asked, participants found themselves relating to those less fortunate when they responded, “We struggle to make things meet. It adds stress to the family with work. It’s hard to make enough to take care of kids and keep house. Husband is not working and we are not getting by. It is very d iscouraging. Life is hard. We do not have money to get by.”

Project Unity conducted its first Poverty Simulation during a Community Partnership Board Meeting in September. The sixty-five attendees experienced first hand the everyday hardships when living on the edge of poverty. Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS) is a unique tool that Project Unity has been licensed to use to educate everyone from policy makers to local community leaders about the day to day realities of life with a shortage of money and an abundance of stress. CAPS is a copyrighted tool made available by the Missouri Community Action Agency to organizations that want to promote a greater understanding of poverty.

If you are interested in learning more how your church, youth group or other organization can take part, please email Jeannie McGuire for more information.

Don Burback of Citibank taking part in our poverty simulation.