Congressional Staffers had an opportunity to experience what people living in poverty have to go through to survive, and they found just one hour of it to be extremely difficult.
At the start of the event, about 50 participants took on different identities and were told of their financial and familial circumstances before being thrust into the difficulties of life below the poverty line. During the course of each of four 10-minute “weeks,” they were responsible for paying rent, buying food, taking the children to school, and either working full-time jobs or applying to them.
At various locations around the room, participants could find a grocery store and a school (which was inconveniently closed for the entirety of week three). They could also find a homeless shelter, a juvenile hall, a jail, a payday advance service and a pawn shop, places almost exclusively patronized by America’s poor.
Emergency interruptions added to the realism, such as a “health and nutrition alert,” which demanded better and more food for the family, or a “sick child alert,” which required the participant to immediately pick up the child, represented by a baby doll, and provide childcare for the rest of the week. Often times, this meant losing a job.
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Dealing with poverty’s uncertainty and anxiety left all the participants visibly exhausted. When asked, “So, how do you feel?” at the completion of the event, there was an audible and collective groan throughout the room. When asked the follow-up question, “How many families bought food all 4 weeks?” about five people in a room of almost 50 raised their hands. But when asked, “How many families were not able to buy food any week?” almost every hand was raised.
This course should be required once a year, every year, for everyone who serves in public office.
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