Sixth Class students share their thoughts on the recent Community Action Poverty Simulation in which they took part.
Last Friday morning was truly an eye-opener for, I’m sure, the entire 6th class – but me especially so. Being in this kind of community, where you usually don’t have the need to talk about rising financial problems, late mortgage payments, or necessary tax deductions, most kids at ASH don’t get exposed to things like poverty, homeless people, or edgy places. That’s what Friday was all about – being exposed and aware of problems we never knew about. Sure, you hear about those charities and funds dedicated to helping people in need, but it’s never real, you see, until you experience it for yourself.
Some of the things we learned about that morning will never leave me; having to worry about whether or not you can afford to go to school every day, waiting in line for charitable help, and remembering to pay the bills or risk foreclosure (In fact, I heard about a ‘couple’ who went to jail for forgetting their baby at home all day). I will never forget that feeling when I heard everybody bustling around me: People groaning in the line for the pawn shop, the ‘police officer’ escorting several people to jail, even my friends having to go to the homeless shelter.
There are lots of things that make us human. Every homo sapiens has a brain, lungs, blood, et cetera … but there’s another thing we all have. We all have a heart. We all have that want and desire to help those around us. But we don’t all have the ability to do something about it. Everybody I know and have been exposed to in my 4,517 days of life has that ability. I encourage those people to do something about it.
Over the course of the last few days since the poverty simulation I’ve noticed myself doing something I usually don’t do. As I drive through downtown or stand in the line at Wal-Mart, I put myself in the shoes of someone next to me. I notice that they look a little hungry, wear tattered or worn clothing, or have nothing but some food and water and a few dollars in their hand. It makes a difference. Doing something for them makes all the difference not just in that minute, but that week, month, year, or even lifetime. Let them go in front of you in line or hand them some money. These are the things they don’t often get, but might need.
I truly and sincerely appreciate everything the volunteers from Friday did for us in the 6th class. They made such a huge impact on my life and I hope I can continue to work to improve other people’s lives for the better.
— Matilda G.
The poverty simulation was a real eye-opener for me. I realized all the decisions people in poverty have to deal with such as should I get food for my family or pay off the utility bill. I also learned all about the daily struggles of being impoverished. One thing that I was surprised by was how fast I ran out of money to buy food and other things. Another thing that surprised me was how many people ended up in prison. Something that I learned was how important every dollar is. I think that this was a great learning experience, and I took many important things
— Justin R.
During the poverty simulation I got just a sliver of what low income families face every day, week, and month of the year. I learned how hard it is to decide to pay for utilities or food. You have to remember everything from utilities to mortgage and school. When you go broke or homeless you’re in so much shock that you don’t know what to do. It taught me that I take many things for granted when a lot of people don’t have those things. This experience helped me realized that I have more than enough and some people don’t have enough. I would like to thank all of the volunteers because the poverty simulation really opened my eyes to the real world.
— Jack C.
The poverty simulation was an enlightening experience that made me truly understand what people in low income households deal with on a daily basis. During the poverty simulation I was in the role of a working mom of three children with an unemployed husband. My first day at work, I arrived late, and the next day I was fired. My husband never got a job and wanted to buy a gun from the pawn shop. My youngest child got sick for two weeks and couldn’t go to school, and my second oldest child got expelled from school in the second week. In week three, the house got foreclosed on because we couldn’t make the mortgage payments. We also didn’t buy as much food or clothing as we needed to. I learned that the people you are buying your necessities from are willing to cheat you out of your money, forcing you to always count your money to make sure no one stole it. I also learned that it is not easy to get what you want from any of the services that you would need to use. The workers are stubborn and not easy to negotiate with. They are also irritable and inconsiderate to the fact that you need to survive too, not just them. So, in conclusion, I believe that the sixth grade should do the poverty simulation for years to come because it ties in to the sixth grade’s study of world hunger, and because it is an eye-opening experience that increases awareness of the struggles of lower income families around the world and right here in our own backyard.
— Jarrett S.
During the Poverty Simulation on Friday, I think I really learned something. I learned that being in poverty is absolutely terrible. Having so many bills and not enough money to pay for them. I felt as if I was a character in the book Seedfolks living in the neighborhood on Gibb Street. I felt many emotions like frustration, anger, sadness, exhausted, and unlucky. I think if this is how people have to live every day, that we need to try to change that. I hope this letter about my poverty experience opens your eyes to the poverty all around the world. I know that it opened my eyes. This is just a short reflection of my poverty experience.
— Jack P.
My experience at the poverty simulation was unlike anything I had ever done. First of all, it was especially interesting for me because I was an 85 year old man living by myself. It actually turned out to be easier being alone because there was less to pay for. I also thought the people there were very good at making the situation realistic. It made the simulation very frustrating for me. Finally, I thought that it was a step forward for me in learning how to be more socially aware. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do this and I recommend it for future people.
— Michael D.
I really enjoyed the overall experience of the poverty simulation. During the simulation, I did not have that swell of a time though. Everything felt real. I was frustrated, nervous, and at times at the point of tears. I was very stressed out about whether my family would be evicted or not. I did all I could and it still didn’t seem to be enough. I learned a lot about what real poor families go through but I also learned not to judge them. A person can make one stupid mistake that can not only affect them but even their family in the future. That person can try to get back on their feet and do everything right during a month and still be in a bad position. I learned not only not to make stupid mistakes, like to do drugs, drop out of school, or become pregnant, but to help those who have made those mistakes and can’t get not only themselves but their family out of the vicious little circle we call poverty. I enjoyed the experience because I learned a lot form it but I would not like it to be my everyday life.
— Lisa B.
The poverty simulation we had on Friday in the cafeteria was a great experience for me. It taught me how people with minimum wage, homeless people, or jobless people get through each day. It must take much perseverance and courage to keep living like that day in and day out. I have felt and realized the hardships and frustration poor people experience every day. The workers there made it very life-like. I appreciate them coming in and working for us. Without them it would not have been the same. It was a wonderful experiment for me and the sixth class. I hope to do it again.
— Amanda M.
During the poverty simulation I experienced what it was like living in poverty. It was difficult because I had a family that needed to eat and a kid that needed to go to school. I lost my job and my family was evicted. My family was desperate. In real life I would have never thought about stealing, but my family and I got so desperate we would have done anything to survive. One of the members of my group went out to steal money from other people in poverty. None of the members of my family tried to stop her because we thought that desperate times called for desperate measures. My father had a stroke and was paralyzed so he couldn’t get a job. My wife tried so hard to get a job. I felt frustrated and stressed because I knew that I was trying everything that I could to do, but no matter what I did it seemed that it was not enough to save my family. We had some items that we could pawn, but that did very little to help us. My daughter caught someone trying to steal our EBT card, but she stopped her before she stole it. At first I thought that we couldn’t live like this for any longer, but then I realized that there are some people who live like this every day and that this simulation is their reality.
— Faith W.
This was a wonderful experience for me. I think that the way the simulation was set up made it feel real. We all felt the real stress, and anger. I know I did. I felt helpless, because I was so young and could not do anything to help my family. This experience helped open all the eyes of the 6th graders to poverty.
— Madeline H.
I thought The Poverty Simulation was a great experience. I learned so much new information about low income families.
My family had a father-in-law, a wife, a husband, and a teenager. The father-in-law had a mile stroke and couldn’t get a job, the wife was unemployed, the husband had a job, and the teenager was in high school with a part time job at the supermarket. We had no cash to start with, but we did have things to pawn and transportation tickets. We also had bills to pay that we couldn’t afford. We were really struggling.
In the first week, I had no idea what to do. I was confused on what to do and where to go. I was in charge of the money, and members of my family kept coming up to me asking for money, but I didn’t have any money to give them. Then, the husband came up to me and said he lost his job.
In the second week, I was more understanding about the concept. I decided we needed to pawn something to get money. I had three items that were each worth one hundred dollars each, but I only could get one hundred fifty dollars for all three. Then I went to social services. I had to fill out many papers, and I was asked many questions that I didn’t know the answers. We got a little money out of social services.
In the third week, I thought everything was going okay, but then the people on the microphone called out our last name, and they said our house was getting foreclosed. I was shocked. With all the overwhelming things going on, we forgot to pay the mortgage. So, we went to the homeless shelter. Soon after, we went to pay all of our other bills.
In the fourth week, our family went straight to business and tried to find odd jobs. For example, we had to babysit other people’s children. Once we got the money, we paid our bills. Then, we could relax. Even though we lost our house, it was a lot easier to pay the bills now.
Throughout the simulation, we experienced anger, sadness, confusion, and a lot of stress. We had people that came around the room and stole from us, cheated us from getting all of our change, and not giving us our receipts. Sometimes, crime felt really necessary. I learned how hard it is to live with very little. Over all, I had a lot of fun in an educational way and I would love to do it again.
— Emily T.
