The large room is set up with different resources along the edges of the room that would be common in a low-income area. These include a school, a community action agency, a shelter, a police department, and many more. Participating students got a sheet of paper with instructions for their roles, either as a resource employee or as a person living in this simulated low-income area.
Each person was grouped into a family, and each member of the family would be given an identity which would enable them access to these resources. Then, tasked with simulating a member of this low-income community, each family, consisting of 4-6 people, would be given a packet containing a social security card, money, and other cards that represent what they would have in their homes.
Then all participants simulating members of the community would have 15 minutes to simulate each week by walking around and interacting with the different community resources that were available by using and purchasing transportation passes for one dollar. These passes would be purchased by a community resource, quick cash, which is akin to a check cashing store.
I participated as a “resource” for the community, the illegal activities person. This officially made it my responsibility to do three things: illegally buy and sell EBT cards and drugs, rob houses that are unlocked, and create “job opportunities.” I do not know what caused them to pick me for this job, probably the smell of my illegal activities’ persona; nonetheless, this was my role.
Throughout the three-hour simulation, members of the community went throughout their simulated lives and did various activities including getting a job, going to the grocery store, and applying for various community assistance. While they did this, I walked around aimlessly, waiting for a chance to talk to someone in line to try and get them to buy drugs or do drug deliveries for me, which were represented by sugar packets. However, I did not get anyone to buy or help me sell drugs, except one person who was playing a troubled teen who would help me for money.
Multiple times I would steal from an unlocked home. This was portrayed by a taped piece of paper to the back of one of the chairs in various circles to represent a home. If the piece of paper was right side up hanging from the back of one of the chairs, the house was unlocked; if the piece of taped paper was flipped over the chair, the house was locked and I was not allowed in. While in these houses, I would steal things like appliances, money or transportation passes which I would then sell to either the local pawn shop or other people. The problem with this was that I kept getting stopped by the cops because the chairs were not tall enough to hide under, as my instructions said, “If the police come by, disappear.”
The most realistic attribute that I found while participating in this event was that I was not given a name or extra identification. I took this as representing an illegal immigrant, or someone awaiting citizenship, but does not have official papers to be in America. This is a tragic reality for the over 100,000 people estimated to be illegally immigrating into America every year. I found that no community resource would help me without proper identification, no matter what work I was doing.
Unfortunately, there was little help my simulated community could offer me since I did not have identification. I wish I could explore this tangent to the poverty simulation more in-depth, but the simulation was not centered around that but merely focused on the reality of living in poverty.
