Poverty is a concern of many in Laramie. With the Poverty Simulator event put on by SLCE office and Laramie Interfaith, individuals can understand the effects of poverty on Laramie residents and their community as a whole.
The event will be hosted in the Civic Center’s Phoenix Ballroom on November 8th, from 4-6pm. It will highlight the different aspects of poverty as individuals can sign up to see the impacts of low income or no income within the context of Laramie and the wider community.
Studies show that, “around one-quarter of Laramie residents (24.8%) and 15.8% of children in our community live in poverty every day.” Different poverty simulators are put on across Wyoming and the country every year in an effort to inform people and inspire them to help in their communities.
These events are intended to be taken seriously by those participating as is specified in the event details, “although props are used over the course of the simulation, it is not a game. After the simulation ends, participants and volunteers are invited to discuss their experiences and how they compare with reality.”
The simulator itself works through a mock process where, “during the program, participants are assigned a role in one of 8 low-income families with different strengths and challenges including extended family support, being single parents, chronic illnesses, SNAP benefits, and work/school requirements. This experience is divided into four 15-minute sessions, each of which represents one week in which you must provide for our family and maintain your home. The task of each family is to provide food, shelter, and other basic needs during the simulation while interacting with various community resources.”
Its overall goal is to, “build an understanding of poverty, break down stereotypes, and engage participants in conversations about making change.”
Poverty extends beyond just those in Laramie who live below the poverty line due to low incomes, “many more people have incomes above the poverty line, but their incomes are still low enough to qualify for programs like SNAP and Medicaid.”
These individuals are impacted by poverty and cost of living obstacles as well, as the simulator will highlight.
Ultimately, Laramie Interfaith and SLCE hope to educate and show individuals the effects of poverty while also using the experience to make comparisons between the simulation and the reality of poverty in different communities and situations.
