A lesson in poverty

from The Courier Journal

St. X game makes a serious point

By Antoinette Konz

Chase Carraro is a 17-year- old junior at St. Xavier High School, but for a few hours last week, he played the part of a single, unemployed parent struggling to provide for his young child.

Other members of his class took on similar roles.

Some were low-income workers trying to survive, while others assumed the identitiesy of senior citizens trying to get by on Social Security.

It was all part of a simulation aimed at sensitizing students to the harsh realities that low-income families face.

St. X officials transformed the gymnasium into a miniature city, complete with a bank, hospital, pawn shop, police station and various human-services agencies.

"We want to try and help our students better understand the struggle of living in poverty," said Rosanna Vessels, St. X's theology department chairwoman, who also teaches several social-justice courses. "This simulation brings to light many of the things that they are learning about in class."

The exercise was organized by the Coalition for the Homeless, a nonprofit organization based in Louisville.

Students were organized into families and given a limited budget of play money.

Their task was to find a way to provide food, shelter and other basic necessities while working with various community-service agencies staffed by low-income volunteers.

It was the second year that members of St. X's junior class participated in the simulation, Vessels said.

"As part of our faith, we are called to serve, and there are hundreds of families in Louisville that struggle every day," she said. "We hope that they can take this experience with them once they leave St. X and become members of our community."

Afterward, students sat on the bleachers and talked about the exercise. Vessels asked them what they learned about poverty.

"It's worse than I thought it was," replied Joey Golemboski, 16. "I felt like there was never enough time and that I would never have enough money to survive."

Joey also said he felt it served as a wake-up call for the entire class.

"Many of us don't have to face what it would be like to live in poverty," he said. "It was a real eye-opener to live that kind of life."

Michael Edelen, 16, said it made him feel grateful for what he has and "increased my awareness about the problem."

Becki Winchel, community-outreach coordinator with the Coalition for the Homeless, said she hopes the simulation also will encourage the students to help out in their community.