Students experience hardships in realistic poverty simulation

by Emmaleigh Clegg

Troy University’s Office of Civic Engagement recently provided an opportunity for students to learn about poverty through a poverty simulation.

According to the United States Census Bureau, 37.9 million Americans are living below the poverty line. Since it’s such a harsh reality for so many families, organizers say it’s important for students to become educated on the challenges they face.

“The simulation is set up to provide students the opportunity to be placed within a family faced with a certain set of circumstances,” said Lauren Cochran, the coordinator for the Office of Civic Engagement. “The families are always low income and the students get to experience different challenges while navigating four simulated weeks in poverty.” 

One of the goals of the simulation is to expose students to beneficial resources within their own lives and to open their eyes to the challenges faced by so many Americans. 

“This event was mandatory for one of my classes, but I’m honestly glad it was, I feel like I’ve learned a lot,” said Alyssa Williams, a freshman undeclared major from Mobile, Alabama. “It’s been really eye-opening to see that these are really common issues that a lot of people go through on a daily basis.” 

Students who participated in the simulation had a handful of responsibilities that they had to fulfill in order to “survive” the week. Failure to perform these tasks could lead to consequences such as eviction, or even arrest. 

“I think that the benefit of coming to this event today is that students who participated get to walk out with a better sense of knowledge of the people forced to live this kind of life,” said Chaunting Whittle, a senior psychology major from Levine, Alabama. “It will hopefully cause students to be more empathetic towards the people that they encounter within their day-to-day lives.”

The Office of Civic Engagement works throughout the year to combat poverty in the community by holding multiple events throughout the year such as the Trojan Pantry and Backpacks for Kids.