On Wednesday, November 9th, 2016, I participated in a poverty simulation at work. I signed up not fully knowing what to expect and as the hour of the encounter approached I was honestly quite nervous about it.
The simulation, hosted by the Crisis Assistance Ministry, was created to bring attention to poverty. In 1975, the Crisis Assistance Ministry was established in Charlotte, NC, by several faith-based community leaders to help low-income households. These clergy members, bombarded by struggling families suffering in the midst of a frail economy due to a recession, decided to come together, aggregating their resources so they could better assist families in poverty.
Prior to the experience, we were given a few things to consider. We were told it wouldn’t give us full comprehension of what those living in poverty undergo, but that ideally this hour-long event would afford us more understanding. One of the primary objectives of the simulation was to “make someone visible because poverty makes people invisible.” We were also asked to resist the temptation to make things a game and to “honor the journey” of others, especially considering we were literally acting out very real events from the lives of very real families. Lastly, we were told to avoid trying to “fix it today,” because our response to help may have been fueled by our desire to feel better.
The hour-long simulation represented a month and the month 4 weeks, with each week being 15 minutes. I was part of a family of four, acting as a nine-year-old child living with my seven-year-old brother and middle-aged grandparents.
In this family of four, the children were forced to move in with their grandparents after their mother was imprisoned for drug use. Their father wasn’t present in their lives or anywhere to be found for that matter. The family’s income was very limited and now exceeded their expenses. The grandmother provided primary support to the family, with a meager $9.50 an hour income from her full-time job. The grandfather’s only source of income was a $500 monthly disability check. Neither of the children had health insurance, so not only was primary care a concern, but care for any specialized needs, such as the ADHD the seven-year-old was diagnosed with, was as well.
As I, along with three of my colleagues, journeyed through the life of this family I became very emotionally involved. Thinking back on it, I felt left out at school because my caretakers didn’t have enough money to purchase school supplies for my brother and me, much less money for us to participate in field trips or other extra activities. I found that this influenced my outlook on school, leading me to become disengaged and disinterested with it. On one afternoon, my brother and I came home only to find our power was disconnected on top of our family being evicted.
Through the experience, I felt our family had no real sense of family. Our “grandparents” had no time to nurture us into proper development. Likewise, there was no time for us, “the grandchildren,” to bring fulfillment to them, through a loving and active relationship. I found new meaning in what our host had mentioned, “the most expensive thing in poverty is time” and we just didn’t have any. Everything was rushed, everything was a blur, there was no time to relax, to have simple enjoyment, or to even hope for something better. There was only enough focus for one thing, which was paying bills and surviving.
How horrible is that? To live life only to survive? What joy is there in just surviving? What hope is there in living and working to just make ends meet, then not even being able to do that…
At this, I wanted to cry. Again, I didn’t realize how emotionally involved I could become in one hour or how much I could learn.
Now, before you say yeah you’re right, there’s no hope, let’s talk about how we redirect hope here.
At the end of the simulation, we were asked to express our thoughts and naturally people held various views, for the most part, they were the same. Well all, except for one…
A former social worker expressed some dissatisfaction over the choices that propel families into and keep them locked in cycles of poverty. Particularly the poor choices that are made by some.
Now, while it is true that choices are responsible for many things, we must not neglect to consider choice and chance. Choices affect everyone, not just those that make them or are directly involved. The choice of another can easily impact you in a positive manner or a negative one. We don’t live in bubbles and unfortunately the behaviors of others can adversely affect our lives.
The trail of choices is without end and blame casting offers no resolution. This can lead us to look outward in judgment and I believe the purpose of the simulation was to bring us to look inward, like what can I do? Considering we are responsible for making our own choices, let your choice be for change. Anyone can point fingers. The power resides with those that can offer solutions and implement them.
Even further, those who may have made bad choices or by chance ended up in a bad situation, still deserve the best life has to offer. Regardless of the choices that were made or the paths traveled to bring a person to poverty they deserve help. That help comes in the form of a resource and a resource is not just provision to meet an immediate or impending need. A resource can include tools and training to empower change.
When you move from the attitude of an individualist (me) and embrace the mentality of one who looks out into the world to see a community (we) then you can shape your world. Once you get this, you can change your environment starting with you and then those around you.
Hope always exists. It may not seem present. It may not be visible. It may not even be tangible, but someone else’s hope could exist in you. You have the power to redirect hope in areas that it doesn’t exist. You have the power to bring hope to someone else.
For those in these situations, remember to hope against all hope because a hope that is seen isn’t any hope at all. Hope is an unseen driving force, existing deep inside of you, causing you to break through every obstacle and push through every turbulent wind working against you in life. I believe that you can win.
To everyone, I hope this post provokes you to spend more time with your family, to not allow the chores of this world to choke the life out of what you were designed to experience, to have compassion in all your interactions, and to be tolerant of others.
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