Bucks County Opportunity Council offers a training experience designed to educate people and facilitate understanding of the dynamics of living in poverty:

Poverty Simulations  

Sponsored in Partnership with

 

46.2 million Americans live in poverty every day. 

Many more have incomes above the poverty line, but their incomes are still low enough to qualify for programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly the Food Stamp Program). The recent economic downturn has seen unemployment rates rise and the use of emergency food pantries increase. The Bucks County Opportunity Council helps more than 8,000 low-income people annually.

It is difficult for those of us who have enough to truly understand the situations that families living in poverty experience every day – the decisions they have to make, and the fears and frustrations they feel. 

The simulation provides participants with the opportunity to assume the role of a low-income family member living on a limited budget. The experience is divided into four 15-minute sessions, each of which represents one week in which you must provide for your family and maintain your home.  As one participant commented, “This welfare simulation dramatically demonstrates how much time and energy many families have to give just to survive from day to day. It quickly dispels the myth “that people would do fine if they would only go out and get a job!” 

If you would like to find out more about hosting a poverty simulation, contact Danielle Bush at
dbush@bcoc.org or 215-345-8175 ext 209.