Poverty simulations are not a new idea.

Schools such as the University of Missouri St. Louis host poverty simulations year after year, using a kit purchased from the Missouri Association for Community Action.

But for UNCW students and the surrounding community, the three-year-old program is still gaining attention.

“Since implementing the program though a Watson School of Education grant in 2009, we have offered the simulation to 200 students each semester,” said Susan Catapano, Chair of the Educational Leadership Department. “We have also offered the simulation to teachers in New Hanover County Schools as part of their professional development.”

Forty-four to 80 students and participants are expected to take on roles of families in poverty. These roles vary and include being homeless, jobless, underemployed and raising grandchildren.

Missouri’s Association for Community Action website stated that “in addition [to family units] about twenty volunteers play the role of resource providers, such as social worker, loan officer, employer, pawnbroker, grocer, utility collector, police officer and teacher.”

These “communities” are set up in a large room where family members are given a card that explains their current situation, whether it be financial, medical or other. The family is then expected to provide food, shelter and basic needs.

The simulation is held in four 15-minute “weeks.”

The entire simulation lasts between two and three and a half hours and includes an introduction and debriefing held afterwards.

“It’s really interesting to see the transformation participants experience,” said Candace Thompson, Assistant Professor of the Department of Instruction Technology.

Thompson described how students seemed to feel that the simulation was going to be fun during the first 15 minute session and by the second or third session, they started to take on the persona of the struggling parent.

“Powerful moments arise in the debriefing afterwards,” said Thompson, “The simulation opens up dialogue between those who have struggled and those who haven’t.”

Students like Sarah Pruett participate in the program because, she said, “I want to have some sort of idea of what my students’ lives are like before going straight into teaching them. I know I will never fully be able to comprehend, and I am not trying. It just gives me a better perception.”

And perception is all the coordinators of this simulation are looking for.

“We want to increase pre-service teachers’ awareness of poverty,” said Amy Moody, Assistant Professor of the Department of Early Childhood and Special Education. “We offer this simulation as a possible mechanism for enhancing their sensitivity and responsiveness to children in the classroom.”

Student Mary Tischler said, “The poverty simulation was an eye-opening experience. Can you imagine trying to succeed in school or in the work world while homeless or suffering from hunger? This is an everyday occurrence for some.”

Thompson stressed that the simulation is not a game. It is a serious program that will hopefully give those studying education a new insight.

“We hope to bring the slightest awareness to the individual struggles of those living in poverty and the institutional issues that make it difficult,” said Thompson.

The simulations will be held Sept. 28, Oct. 18 and Nov. 7 and are open to all who wish to participate.