Poverty Simulations
When your budget has no wiggle room where do you find money for a child’s school trip or treatments for a serious illness?
RECAP offers Poverty Simulations to help people who may not live in poverty experience the stress and choices faced by families who live on precariously low incomes. Held nationwide by nonprofits and community action groups, these interactive events are a useful tool for those serving low-income residents including community service organizations, schools, and government workers.
Participants will:
- Experience the simulated effects of stress while managing a low-income household
- Learn how to spot families in crisis
- Identify resources for those who are at risk
In these 90-minute workshops participants are assigned identities of low-income families and must visit stations occupied by RECAP staff and volunteers. Stations include police, social services, education, health centers, and financial institutions. Families are given varying amounts of money and are tasked with responsibilities such as doctor appointments and setting up utility payment plans. Participants are assigned personal hardships such as medical issues, unemployment, and children with learning disabilities.
The events conclude with a group discussion about how poverty affects every aspect of life including health, work, and raising children. Personal situations such a history of trauma, addiction, and mental health issues can exacerbate hardships. Participants gain insight about the focus of anti-poverty groups who work to break cycles of generational poverty.
Poverty simulations are 90 minutes long and work best with 50-80 participants. RECAP is a certified poverty simulation trainer/facilitator through the Missouri Community Action Network. To schedule a poverty simulation or learn more, contact RECAP at (845) 342-3978 or info@recap.org.
Poverty simulation brochure: Poverty simulation
