POVERTY SIMULATIONS
As a community leader, it’s important to understand the connection between how services are delivered, and how we can empower people to get out of poverty.
What’s it like to juggle finding work, paying rent and bills, affording child care — and lose your primary breadwinner?
What’s it like to travel from place to place, not knowing where to go, repeating your story, waiting in line, running out of time?
What’s it like to walk in the shoes of someone living in poverty?
Community Progress Council offers an interactive, hands-on Poverty Simulation that invites participants to step into the shoes of specific person in a low-income family, and engage in short simulated “weeks” with real-time opportunities to get to work, care for your children, connect to resources, and navigate the unexpected.
How do simulations work?
Poverty simulations work best with approximately 40-80 individuals, divided into family units.
Each participant is assigned a family role. After an introduction to the exercise, these family members are then tasked with working through four simulated “weeks” of a person living in poverty. They are responsible for their spending, transportation, education, employment, and receiving benefits through government agencies.
Also in the room are individuals who represent these agencies, businesses, schools, and more.
The simulation is not a game. It’s based on real-life experiences of people living in poverty. The event concludes with feedback and discussion among the participants to reflect on their experience.
Take a sneak peek at a recent simulation in this news coverage from CBS21, in the video above.
WHO DOES POVERTY SIMULATIONS?
- Nonprofit teams and Boards of Directors
- Elected and appointed officials and other government workers
- Educators and administrators
- Faith-based leaders and groups
- Business owners
- Community organizers and leader
- Health care professionals
- Civic organizations
- Student groups
- Human resources departments
… and many others have attended simulations hosted by Community Progress Council in the past.
IS IT A FIT FOR MY GROUP?
- Do you have between 40-80 participants interested for a specific date at least one month into the future?
- Can your group commit 2 ½ hours for the simulation?
- Do you have access to a space of 3,000 feet to run the simulation?
- Do you have access to 20-30 tables and 100 folding chairs for the simulation set-up?
IS THERE A COST TO ATTEND A SIMULATION?
- Poverty Simulations open to the public are offered at no cost to participants, and everyone is welcome.
- For groups wishing to host their own Poverty Simulation for a closed group, we invite you to consider a suggested donation between $500 and $1,000.
Schedule your own poverty simulation
If you’re interested in learning more about hosting your own Poverty Simulation through Community Progress Council, please reach out to Director of Marketing & Communications Sarah Chain. Please provide at least one month’s notice from your anticipated date.
SIGN UP FOR AN UPCOMING PUBLIC poverty SIMULATION
Interested in experiencing a poverty simulation, but don’t have a group of 40? Community Progress Council hosts simulations at least twice a year that are open to the public. Sign up for our email newsletter to learn about upcoming simulation dates, or email Director of Marketing and Communications Sarah Chain to express your interest.
Community Progress Council offers Poverty Simulations open to the public and at no cost to participants, thanks to generous support from Living Word Community Church.
The Community Action Poverty Simulation is owned and copyrighted by the Missouri Community Action Network.