Seemingly at every turn, a new barrier stands in the way.
For the thousands of Johnson County residents struggling in poverty, the desire to improve their situation and break the cycle is strong. But navigating employment, banks, housing, health care and more can often beat down their intentions and make the process seem impossible.
Yet as much of the community struggles to live day-to-day, very few people outside those in poverty understand how difficult it can be.
“Poverty can seem hidden or non-existent in Johnson County, but it is very real,” said Jill Pierce, coach for the Circles Johnson County program through Bridges Alliance of Johnson County, which works to reduce poverty in the community.
To increase empathy and help the public be better prepared to address the issue, local leaders are hosting a poverty simulation on Jan. 14 at Franklin. The event is sponsored by Bridges Alliance and the college, as well as Circles Indianapolis and BRiCKs Alliance, Inc., a nonprofit organization sponsoring the Circles Indianapolis program.
Participants get a chance to experience just what life in poverty is like. Each person assumes the identity of someone navigating the daily challenges of poverty and works with their assigned “family” to get through one simulated month.
“They’ll have a character they’re assigned — a role in a family, so to speak — and then they’ll move through week by week, and learn how one small setback can turn into a crisis,” Pierce said. “That can be a shock to people.”
Bridges Alliance of Johnson County is a collaboration between businesses, social service agencies, churches and individuals working together to end poverty in the community. The program provides the tools, resources, support and relationships necessary to be successful, helping people establish independence and stability in their lives.
The organization uses parts of two different nationally recognized anti-poverty programs. Bridges Out of Poverty focuses on understanding the hidden rules of society that can keep people from succeeding. At the same time, Bridges Alliance has also worked with a group called Circles USA, whose Surviving to Thriving program brings participants together each week to learn about how to budget, apply and interview for a job, and set goals.
As part of their work, Bridges Alliance has hosted a handful of poverty simulations since forming eight years ago. In recent years, it has become a yearly tradition at Franklin College.
“It’s really different than reading the statistics about poverty. Feeling the pressure you get from being a part of the simulation, and then the trade-offs you have to make, that’s what really changes people’s perspective. So it’s very interesting to see how people come in and move from a place of judgment to empathy when they themselves are faced with these issues.”
The simulation takes place in a large room transformed into a functioning community. Participants’ “homes” are represented by chairs at the center, while essential services — such as banks, schools, medical clinics, social service agencies, employers and grocery stores — are set up at tables around the perimeter.
As the simulation unfolds, individuals must work together to make decisions, pay bills, access resources, and overcome unexpected obstacles.
At different times, organizers of the simulation will initiate different scenarios, such as calling the participants out of work because their child is expelled from school, or there is a medical issue to take of which prevents them from work.
When people need to make decisions to overcome those barriers, it can make it more relatable to what people in poverty do.
“Even though they’ll have the best intentions and put in all of the work, they experience how systems work against them. They can encounter a lot of systems we have as a community as a safety net, and learn how difficult it can be to navigate those,” Pierce said. “They’re impossible choices to make sometimes.”
Feedback from past participants has proven the simulation to be deeply motivating, inspiring many to take meaningful action to help reduce poverty in our community.
“People really leave seeing the community differently. It’s immersive, and that’s the kind of experience that leads to longer-term change and learning,” Pierce said.
The entire experience lasts about three hours, with 90 minutes of that devoted to the actual poverty simulation, while the rest of the time includes talking about the experience and how they felt, if they did something they thought they wouldn’t do in real life.
Though open to the entire community, organizers recommend participation for those age 12 and older.
The simulation will start promptly at 6 p.m. Jan. 14, and participants are asked to arrive at least 10 minutes before then to check in and get ready. An optional community meal will be served at 5:30 p.m., and those who would like to take part are asked to RSVP by Wednesday.
“January is Poverty Awareness Month, which I don’t know that a lot of people talk about. Coming right off the holidays, I think it’s a really powerful way to start the year,” Pierce said. “Greater understanding is part of our mission at Bridges Alliance to help people understand what our under-resourced neighbors are experiencing. So we really want people to start the year thinking about what stability really requires.