Unless you鈥檝e lived in poverty, it鈥檚 nearly impossible to understand the day-to-day challenges that come with it.
And while a simulation inside 精东传媒鈥檚 Knight Fieldhouse can鈥檛 replicate what happens in real life, it still gives 精东传媒 students a stark look at the issues many families in poverty face every day.
Nebraska Wesleyan鈥檚 second poverty simulation, brought together students from multiple disciplines. The collaborative event between the nursing and health and human performance departments also included students in public health, social work, and in the Master鈥檚 in Athletic Training program. Senior-level nursing students were able to count the exercise toward their clinical hours.
And while there were moments of laughter and smiles sprinkled throughout the more than two-hour exercise, the scenarios students faced brought real frustrations as groups of students simulated a month living in poverty.
鈥淭he students typically find that it鈥檚 a very challenging and frustrating experience,鈥 said assistant professor of nursing Jennifer Eilts, one of the simulation鈥檚 organizers. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 generally come away with many positive takeaways, just because it鈥檚 very difficult for them to manage one month in poverty, and experience what it鈥檚 like to not have transportation to get anywhere, and be evicted from their homes, and experience some of those real scenarios.鈥
Participating students were divided into 鈥渇amilies鈥 seated in the middle of the exercise, with each group taking on different circumstances 鈥 newly unemployed, single-parent household, homeless, and other scenarios.
Tables around the perimeter represented community resources and services the families might rely on, including an employer, grocery store, utility company, pawn broker, and a bank, among others.
There was also a jail, which saw its share of occupants during the exercise, as some of the participants played the role of criminals who stole money and other valuables from families.
Those tables were staffed by community volunteers to add another level of realism. The 鈥渕onth鈥 consisted of four 15-minute 鈥渨eeks鈥 that required participants to go to work, get their kids to school or child care, and pay the mortgage and bills, while navigating unexpected obstacles.
鈥淥ur agencies are there to simulate real life, said Kristi McGuire, assistant professor of nursing and another one of the simulation鈥檚 organizers. 鈥淪o if they want to shut down at any moment, they shut down. If (the pawn shop) doesn鈥檛 want to give you what your things are worth, or if they want to short you money, it鈥檚 supposed to be frustrating. We want students to understand what happens in the system.
鈥淭he whole goal of this is to be able to say, 鈥業 know what resources we have here in Lincoln, this is what we need to do. This is what I can do to help you.鈥 But until you鈥檝e lived it, it鈥檚 hard to understand it on that level. So this is just a very small way for us to get them to understand that.鈥