Emma Wasden photos
Students were able to gain a new perspective about life in poverty last Wednesday in the Lamar P. Higgins ballrooms.
The Office of Civic Engagement held their semesterly poverty simulation to educate students about life below the poverty line.
“Whether this is an experience that students can relate to in a personal way or it's something that's very foreign to them, we hope that students get a better understanding of the challenges that lower-income families navigate on a daily basis,” said Lauren Cochran, coordinator of the Office of Civic Engagement. “We hope that they can use this knowledge to better serve their communities as they graduate college and enter their careers.”
To start the simulation, participants were each assigned a role in a family. Each family was given specific circumstances they had to learn to overcome.
The simulation was set up to provide an experience similar to what many low-income families experience day-to-day. Students had to learn to work with a limited budget while navigating real-life issues.
“They may have an individual with a disability or trouble finding a job or maybe are too young to get employment,” Cochran said.
The simulation consisted of four simulated weeks in poverty, each lasting around fifteen minutes. In this time participants had to carry out normal daily activities such as going to work and school, as well as purchasing necessities and paying bills.
“We really hope that students can just get even a glimpse of what it looks like to be impoverished in America,” said Jayden McQueen, a volunteer with the Office of Civic Engagement and a junior political science major from Crestview, Florida. “We hope that with this we can kind of take away the stigma, maybe the judgment that can be placed upon people who have needs and that are struggling.”
During the debrief, after the simulation, each participant shared how it made them feel. Many said they felt stressed and sometimes even hopeless or useless but were grateful for the experience.
Noel Moseley, a junior psychology major from Prattville, Alabama, attended the simulation and expressed her gratitude for the experience.
“It was a good ‘put yourself in their shoes’ kind of thing, and I like to see that people want to learn more,” Moseley said. “I like to see that it was like a sense of community with everybody.”
To sign up for future poverty simulations and other service events, students can visit my.troy.edu/service. Those interested can keep up with future events by following @troy_service on Instagram.
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