Poverty in the New Year

from The Prairie Advocate

MT. CARROLL ­ Holiday gifts. Luxury items. Expensive gifts. They may be on the mind of many shoppers, but an educator with the Jo-Carroll Unit of the University of Illinois Extension is thinking about poverty.

Robin Fisch is planning a poverty simulation in February at the First Presbyterian Church in Savanna.

She is looking for volunteers and participants for the event.

"It is designed to bring some sensitivity to those who think they know what poverty is," said Cathe Dixon, local office administrator, Carroll County Family Community Resource Center.

The event will be open to anyone interested in participating. County Board members, school staff and members of the business community could learn from participating, the event's sponsors said.

"Even high school kids would benefit from it," said Dawn Holland, Carroll County Health Department office manager.

Leighton Martz, who works in Dixon's office, recently attended a similar simulation in a neighboring county.

"The sense of helplessness that a lot of our customers feel," is what Martz said he took from the experience. He walked away with the realization that impoverished individuals have no control over their situation. Instead, they are constantly reacting. "It gave me a good sense of their mindset," Martz said.

The volunteers will help staff the simulation, serving as mock representatives of businesses, police departments and banks and utility companies.

Attendees will be assigned a situation and family size as they make their way through their mock life as a poor person.