Leaders, business owners and community members from all across Marshall County gathered at the Stockman Youth Center Wednesday morning, to get a better understanding of what it’s like to live without financial security.
The Marshall County Neighborhood Center teamed up with Purdue Extension to host a Poverty Simulation. The event was targeted at community decision makers and employers to give them a glimpse into what a month living in poverty looks and feels like.
Plymouth Mayor Mark Senter, City Attorney Sean Surrisi and Superintendent Andy Hartley were a few of the local leaders who participated in this eye-opening exercise.
Before the simulation began, Purdue Operations Specialist Christina Swathwood emphasized that, though they were utilizing play money and some props, the exercise was, by no means, meant to seem like a game.
She mentioned that the scenarios included in the simulation are real-world situations that those living in poverty experience regularly.
Participants were placed into household units and assigned certain family roles. The simulation was divided up into four different “weeks” where the groups faced a number of challenges that are a reality for many.
Economically disadvantaged residents also had an opportunity to participate in Wednesday’s exercise. Some of these individuals are clients of the Neighborhood Center.
They were positioned at various stations, acting
The stations were labeled with titles such as
Neighborhood Center Director Chris Garner said that while there were some no-shows the day of the simulation, they did receive a good amount of responses from a variety of Marshall County communities, including Argos, Bremen Bourbon
She added that there’s a chance that a similar simulation will be hosted again sometime this spring.
More photos from Wednesday’s event can be found on Kankakee Valley Broadcasting’s Tri-County News page.
