Simulating the experience of poverty

HURON — On Monday, with students away from classes for their Thanksgiving break, Huron Schools' staff joined Second Harvest Food Bank to learn about some extreme challenges many community members face. Occurring in the high school's gym, this event — called a poverty simulation — came together through a coordinated effort between those affiliated with the school; Second Harvest, a leading food bank for Erie County; and local volunteers. It was part of the district's staff professional development day. This simulation was designed to bring awareness and create empathy for others to better understand the difficulties many locals encounter daily and especially around the holidays. The mission offered staff insight into what some people have to go through in hopes of surviving when factoring in housing responsibilities, managing finances and providing for the basic needs of each family member within a household. The simulation "created awareness for our staff," district superintendent James Tatman said. "It gives additional information on the kids and families they work with and what they go through." A 'real' simulation On Monday, the simulation was a sped-up four-week period. Every 15 minutes was a new week. Staff members were responsible for completing tasks in their routine. To complete a task, employees visited booths stationed around the gym. A few stops include the grocery store, work, school, law enforcement and a pawn shop. Employees were grouped into families with different circumstances and numbers of members. They were also assigned a new identity. These new roles varied from a child in school to a working parent to someone who was unemployed. To move around each task, staff members had to think about transportation in the same way that they would in real life. If they had a transportation card, they could move to a task — but, if not, they could not complete a necessary chore to help them progress in their responsibilities. To add to the difficulty and realism, participants were also given luck-of-the-draw cards to simulate unpredictable events in life. That meant they also had to deal with issues, like robberies, home invasions and fights. Kimberly Hazelgrove, an advocacy coordinator from Second Harvest Food Bank, said it was important to remember this was a simulation, not a game, with props and fake money. "The statistics and situations that comprise the simulation are real, and they are based on the real-life experiences of those people you are portraying that live in poverty and in low income," Hazelgrove said. "It is not a game here in our service areas of Huron County, Erie County, Crawford County (and) Lorain County for the over 344,000 households we serve for food assistance." An important matter The food insecurity rate for Erie County equals about 14.3% of the 74,000 people living in the county, according to Hazelgrove. Data from the 2024 State of Poverty in Ohio report, compiled by the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies, also sheds light on the local situation. As of 2022, the most recent data available, about 29% of Erie County residents were living below 200% of the federal poverty level, which is a key metric in determining eligibility for assistance programs, the report states. That 29% in 2022 represents an approximately 5% increase from the same data recorded in 2010. "It really shows the real-life experiences of a lot of people in our community, and being the regional food bank we see that there is a lot of different situations that cost them to need food resources," said Emily Faust, external communications and development coordinator at the food bank. Faust said it is beneficial to share real-life poverty scenarios with the community. This is the food bank's first simulation. Faust shared the complexity of designing and organizing the event including the special training the food bank needed to run it. She said there are a lot of rules everyone, including participants and community members running the booths, has to follow to play their part.