Lessons Learned at a Poverty Simulation Workshop
Nancy E. Adams is University Librarian and Director of Student Services at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. Nancy is interested in partnering with faculty to develop students’ proficiency in information literacy – the ability to find, evaluate, and use information — and in using technology to improve library and student services.
Recently I attended a poverty simulation workshop at a local urban high school. Attendees were placed randomly into “families” when we arrived and given a packet containing a description of our fictitious identities (I was an umemployed 19-year-old mom with a baby living with an employed boyfriend); a list of our weekly and monthly expenses and income sources; play money and transportation passes; and slips showing our personal possessions – all eligible for trade at the local pawn shop. The family groups sat in the middle of the school gymnasium. Around the perimeter of the gym were tables containing consumer and social services, including: an employment agency, a pawn shop, food pantry, a school, and a grocery store, among others. The scenario ran in four 15-minute increments, each representing one week. The object: to end the month in your home with all utilities on, your family fed adequately and your children in school. My family? We didn’t succeed.
I learned many things during the simulation. I learned that I was no match for the maze of social services. I learned that even though I consider myself to have good planning skills, I still made small mistakes that ended up costing me precious time and money. I also learned that good planning skills are sometimes no match for bad luck and that making the food, gasoline, and rent money stretch– while trying to complete the tasks that had to be done to feed and protect my child– was an exercise in logic. I also learned that some of the ways that our social and economic systems work simply don’t work for people living near the poverty level. Add to these conditions a low level of functional literacy, and it’s no wonder that sometimes the situation seems hopeless.
This was the first time that I participated in a simulation. One thing that I noticed about this learning experience was that I was still processing it many days later. I am still experiencing “aha” moments about the reality of those dealing with poverty. In a small way, I was the impoverished young mom trying to live by her wits – all the while realizing that I was warm, safe, fed, and returning to a well-paying job in a few hours. Now, my hope is that what I’ve learned will help to move me towards greater empathy and less judgment of people dealing with poverty, especially those with whom I work every day.
