“What would it be like to be a part of a family living in poverty?” That is what Coordinator of Women’s and Gender Studies, Melinda Mills, asked the more than 60 students in attendance at Wednesday evening’s poverty simulation at the Castleton Pavilion. The hour-long simulation that followed helped provide those in attendance with an answer, and gave students a chance to try to survive, economically, through a month of poverty.
Upon arrival students were placed in “families” and presented information that detailed their identities and surrounding circumstances for the simulation. For the duration of the event – which was broken into four, 15-minute “weeks” – the students were faced with the challenges of being a member of a family living in impoverished conditions.
Students identified as “children” participated in daycare or school day activities, while students identified as “adults” were either placed among the workforce, or the unemployed. Events like budgeting, food sources, and simply meeting basic needs were highlighted throughout the exercise.
“I think it’s really important for students and adults to understand what it’s like to live in poverty,” said Chrispin White, Director of Community Service and Internships. “Sometimes people have misconceptions about people in poverty and hopefully this will open their eyes, our eyes.”
Community members, professors, and students ran booths for daily needs like “health care,” “childcare,” and “social services” with each one showing the specific hardships faced by families.
Special ‘scenario cards’ were given to families that either made life easier or made their situations a little more difficult to simulate the unpredictable nature of everyday life.
“This is an attempt to duplicate real world experiences, to become sensitive to what people experience around us,” Luther Brown, Professor of Social Work, said.
“It’s important for people to really understand what people go through on a daily basis,” sophomore, Regan Guyette said. “This is a stepping stone to plan their own financial future and gives the cultural experience so they can realize how fortunate they are.”
According to Mills, the situations presented in the simulation were “based on real-life statistics.” Some students were even faced with moral dilemmas such as choosing whether or not to steal items and pawn them, or to sell drugs to make enough money to meet the needs of their families. “By presenting information about the millions of people who live in poverty, and providing statistics specific to Vermont, we hoped to show how poverty is a social problem, not an individual one. We also encouraged students to see poverty in this way, to begin thinking about collective action,” Mills concluded.
At the ensuing debriefing, topics such as social inequalities, social injustice, and the role poverty plays in education were discussed. Organizers of the event hope that the simulation and subsequent dialogue will help increase students’ understanding of the lived experiences of people who are under-resourced, and build empathy for them. “When you have a chance to walk in the shoes of low-income individuals, you have an increased appreciation for the challenges they face on a daily basis, navigating day-to-day activities and the social service system,” said Associate Academic Dean Ingrid Johnston-Robledo. “This simulation is especially helpful for students who will work closely with individuals or families who are under-resourced. Hopefully increased empathy will lead students to challenge the myths and stereotypes perpetuated about low income individuals that negatively influence their interactions with them.”