Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be poor? Our Sixth Class students got an eye-opening dose of reality one recent morning during a poverty simulation exercise in the White Center dining hall. The Community Action Agency of St. Louis set up and manned tables representing various social services and governmental agencies, as well as a bank, grocery store, child care center, pawn shop and jail. The Sixth Class students and some of their parents were clustered in small groups as families and assigned roles such as single mother, youngest child, etc. They then traveled the circuit of agencies, waiting in line, explaining their situation, answering questions, etc. Sometimes their appeal would be denied, and they’d be left to try another avenue of help.
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