A day in the life: Simulation helps community leaders learn about poverty

Melissa Higbee, executive director of Fremont Youth and Community Outreach, says true poverty doesn’t look like unsheltered people on the streets of Chicago.

“True poverty is that one in four children are food insecure in our county. One in four,” she told the about 60 community leaders gathered at Trine University. “If you're looking at a classroom, think of how many kids that is.”

Higbee continued, “It's not necessarily because they don't have food at all. But they don't have healthy food, which means that they can’t think, and they can't learn. … It's not the unsheltered on the street in Chicago; it’s your neighbors.”

Higbee’s remarks were part of a poverty education event conducted by Purdue Extension and hosted on October 12 by the Steuben County Community Foundation (SCCF) in Trine’s Keith E. Busse/Steel Dynamics Inc. Athletic and Recreation Center.

‘Their clients are invisible’

Carmyn Hottell, Director of Community Engagement and Leadership for SCCF, said the idea for the simulation came out of responses following the Foundation’s 30^th anniversary celebration last year.

“I followed up with all 30 of our grantees, and one of the overwhelming sentiments was that their clients are invisible,” she said. “From those conversations, we concluded that we'd like to hold a poverty simulation to spread awareness, increase understanding, and shift perspective, providing this little window into what reality is for a lot of people in our own community.”

The event began with a panel discussion including nonprofit leaders and professionals who work with those in poverty on a regular basis. In addition to Higbee, the group heard from Tia Buchs, coordinator for the Metropolitan School District of Steuben County’s ACE Academy, Leslie Schlottman, executive director for Turning Point of Steuben County, Alicia Johnson, Steuben County director for Bowen Center, and Michael Wood, detective sergeant for the Angola Police Department.

Each shared stories of people in impoverished circumstances they had worked with. Some had positive outcomes; others did not.

Buchs said there often is more than meets the eye with those who are in poverty.

“Take the time to learn somebody's story, because they're not trying to just be a jerk or be difficult,” she said. “It's usually because they come from a situation that has so many challenges.”

Higbee noted that “the majority of us are one catastrophe away from poverty. One moment where your health insurance doesn't cover something, one month where your car breaks down and you can't pay for it.”

Of the Angola Police Department’s 7,000 annual calls for service, Wood said a majority are related to people who are in poverty.

“A lot of it has to do with mental health or addiction problems stemming from generational issues,” he said. “It goes throughout the generations of poverty until you get someone in the family who breaks that chain.”

Frustrating and stressful

Following the panel discussions, participants were grouped into simulated low-income families dealing with issues such as single parenting, unplanned pregnancy, and drug addiction.

“I learned how frustrating it can be, especially if you don’t have a vehicle, to try to get to work and medical appointments, getting kids to school – the amount of stress there can be on a family to meet basic needs,” said Gretchen Miller, senior vice president, and chief operating officer for Trine University.

Participants then took part in a brainstorming session to help determine the next steps the community should take to address poverty. A donation also paid for an event video that will be shared with those who were not able to attend.

“We're going to start to follow up with different community groups,” said Hottell. “Elected officials, city council, county council, Rotary Club, chamber luncheons, anyone who will have us and say, ‘Hey, these are the community leaders who were in the room, and here are the things they said could be a priority to improve quality of life in Steuben County. How are we going to make this happen?’ ”