On 9/27 from 9:30-11:30 (at SUNY New Paltz) Planned Parenthood Mid-Hudson Valley will be hosting a Poverty Simulation for our ALL Staff Training Day. Below is a brief outline of what the simulation entails. We are in need of a few more volunteers to “staff” the community/civic roles around the perimeter of the room while the participants (our Staff) are designated as “family units” and participate in the simulation.
My understanding is that the facilitator would like volunteers to arrive at 8:30 for a short training and orientation to the activity and their role. We need a total of 18 volunteers. We are reaching out to our community partners who may be interested in participation or who can spread the word.
Please feel free to call Fran at 845-926-2412 or email fran.foxpizzonia@ppmhv.org if you have any questions. I look forward to hearing from you.
Poverty Simulation
How do we get our neighbors, leaders, and communities to see poverty’s effects on the cycles of teen pregnancy, drug & alcohol abuse, violence, and incarceration?
A Poverty Simulation opens people’s eyes to the human cost of poverty.
This simulation is a unique opportunity and helps the community understand life with a shortage of money and an abundance of stress.
Using a simulation kit, participants role-play the lives of low-income families. Family scenarios help participants decide how to seek services and support, obtain financial assistance, and determine how to spend what little money the family has in order to survive.
A Month in the Life:
Week 1
The month begins and your family must decide what to do first.
“I have no job and my bills are due.”
“I have to get to work and my mother is too sick to help care for my baby.”
“Where do I go, what do I do?”
Week 2
Participants realize the frustration to wait in line and not have enough money to pay the bills. “If I pay my utilities and rent, how do I purchase groceries or medication?”
Week 3
Participants who have not paid their mortgage receive eviction notices. “My child is skipping school and suddenly offers to help purchase groceries. What do I do?”
Week 4
Participants have to pay bills and feed their family by the end of the week. “I wonder what the minimum amount is that I can pay to keep my utilities on?”
In the simulation, 40 -100 participants assume the roles of up to 26 different families facing poverty.
Some examples of families are those recently unemployed, senior citizens receiving social security, or grandparents raising their grandchildren. Each family is tasked to provide basic necessities and shelter during the course of four 15-minute “weeks”.
The simulation is conducted in a large room where families sit in groups in the center. Tables surround the perimeter which represent community resources and services for the families. These services include a bank, a super center, a Community Action Agency, an employer, a utility company, a pawn shop, a grocery store, a DFS office, a payday and title loan facility, a daycare, and a school.
The facilitator will lead a feedback discussion after the simulation.
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-mid-hudson-valley
0 spaces available
Online registration is not available for this event.
