By Christina Falso, Staff writer
The Poverty Simulation is an event hosted and organized every year by the Johnson Center for Civic Engagement, JCCE, here at Susquehanna University, and the Union-Synder Community Action Agency located in local Selinsgrove.
The Poverty Simulation is an event where students receive a card and it has an “identity” on it that students keep for the simulation. For example, when a student receives a cardthe card can read that this student is a 40-year-old male, has three children, and is suffering from poverty in a different state or somewhere around the world. Students impersonate and keep their new “identities” for the exercise, and experience what it is like to suffer from poverty on a day to day basis. Students move to different stations around the room and try to pay their bills, drop their children off at school, afford dinner, etc.
“It is definitely an eye-opening experience for students who do the simulation,” Abbie Wolfe said, a current Junior at Susquehanna and the Poverty Simulation coordinator with the JCCE. It is her third year working for JCCE and participating in the Poverty Simulation. However, this year, the simulation unfortunately had to be cancelled. This occurred due to the lack of faculty members from the Community Action Agency available to help run the event. “There needs to be trained staff members in order to run the simulation,” Wolfe said who is disappointed the event had to be cancelled. Abbie is looking forward to next year’s simulation and the revival of the event. “We want to pop the bubble surrounding the topic of poverty,” Wolfe said.
“It is important that students realize poverty is more common than they think and does affect their local communities.” The JCCE and the Union-Synder Community Action Agency will look to continue the Poverty Simulation next year.