Poverty simulation gives glimpse of frustration and anxiety experienced by the poor

A unique poverty simulation Friday, March 24, will replicate the conditions of the poor, giving participants a hint of what it’s like to face everyday hardships, scarceness of food and insufficient shelter.

The Community Action Poverty Simulation will be 2 to 4:30 p.m. in Georgia College & State University’s Health Sciences building on N. Wilkinson Street, room 314. About 80 participants—from students, faculty and staff to local civic leaders—will experience this virtual reality of deprivation, designed by the Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS) in Missouri.

Millions live at or below the federal poverty level. Nearly 40% of Milledgeville’s residents live in poverty. That’s 26% higher than the state average and nearly 30% higher than the national average, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The simulation is designed to sensitize people who frequently deal with low-income families,  creating a broader awareness of poverty among policymakers and community leaders. The ultimate goal is to inspire change and improve lives.

“This program helps people understand the complexities and frustrations of living in poverty daily,” said Toyia Barnes, diversity officer in the College of Health Sciences (CoHS). “With a greater awareness of its impact, CoHS is meeting its goal of developing equity-minded, healthcare practitioners.”

Participants will role-play the lives of low-income families using simulation kits. Some will be single mothers with children receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Others will play the disabled, senior citizens on Social Security or people with chronic illnesses.

All will have the stressful task of meeting basic needs and finding shelter on limited budgets during the course of four, 15-minute ‘weeks.’

The room is the community; a participant’s chair is their home; and those sitting nearby, their neighbors. Participants will move around the room perimeter to get resources they need. They’ll interact with human service agencies, schools, banks, grocers, pawnbrokers, bill collectors, job interviewers and police officers, among others.

Volunteers from local community service agencies will act as resource agents.

This event is hosted by the university’s College of Health Sciences. Please follow this link to register online.

“Understanding the reality of poverty,” Barnes said, “will help our future healthcare practitioners as they enter their chosen fields of study.”