A local community organization gave individuals the opportunity to take a walk in the shoes of other people, to experience a side of life they never have had to cope with.

“I hope that this simulation breaks down stereotypes of poor people. All poor people’s experiences are not the same,” Ken Regal, co-director of Just Harvest, said. “I hope that it builds understanding of how critically important it is to have a safety net to protect people from poverty and that solving this problem is a political process. It is going to take policies from political officials on all levels to end this and keep it from getting worse.”

MAKING ENDS MEET—Individuals visit the “Quik Cash” check cashing table to get money to feed their family and pay their bills during the Just Harvest Poverty Simulation.

At the William Pitt Student Union of the University of Pittsburgh, local community nonprofit organization Just Harvest demonstrated that life is not easy for low-income families through their poverty simulation held July 14. Poverty is a condition that is steadily increasing and plaguing the community, especially, the African-American community.

Nearly 60 volunteers, staff and representatives of political officials spent a few hours, which represented one month, as individuals from low-income families and as business owners. The simulation was put together for people to get a sense of what people who are struggling to make ends meet go through and to get a sense of the problems that they encounter. And to show that this is an issue that urgently needs to be addressed.

“I think it was very successful. People seemed to get a real sense of the stresses low-income families go through to make ends meet,” said Rick Claypool, Organizing and Outreach Assistant at Just Harvest and a volunteer through AmeriCorps’ VISTA program. “The goal was achieved.”

At the beginning of the simulation, each family, which ranged from one member to five, was given a packet that described their family, each individual and the situations that surrounded their low-income life. There were approximately a total of 15 families.

Some individuals played the role of children, some were grandparents raising kids, some were single parents and some were individuals from families that were just victims of life’s happenings.

Each family was given the task of paying their rent, utilities, buying food, getting a job and children had to attend school, all on a low-income and in the time of 15 minutes. Each 15-minute period represented a week’s time. When the time expired, the various businesses that were set up closed and the participants were out of luck.

There were businesses like, “Big Dave’s Pawn Shop,” “Quik Cash” check cashing, “U-Trust-Us National Bank,” “Friendly Utility Co.,” “Sweeney Mortgage and Realty,” “Food A-Rama Supercenter,” the Department of Human Services, a childcare and Head Start program, an employer which people visited to get jobs, and a Community Action Agency, which helps to provide resources for low-income families, just like Just Harvest. There was also a police officer and an “illegal activities man” who tried to get people to do illegal things to make extra money.

To make ends meet, individuals had to sell items to the pawn shop; try to get a loan through the bank; cash their checks at a quik cash, which usually has a certain percentage that is withheld as a fee or get an advance of funds until they received their check; try to find a job; visit their caseworker at the Department of Human Services; buy groceries and prescriptions; all while trying to pay their rent and utilities and for some, trying to take care of their children.

During each 15-minute session, families had to visit the Food-A-Rama to buy food for their families and for those who did not, they received warnings for not feeding their children. One of the volunteers working with the Food-A-Rama store said during the discussion period of the event, that it was sad to find that some of the most successful families during this simulation were the ones that had only gone hungry for one week. Also, if the rent was not paid by the end of the fourth session, each family who did not pay, got evicted from their homes. There were only a few.

Deborah Fisher, a participant from the Friendship area of Pittsburgh, said that she has experience in being in some of the situations being portrayed in the simulation. She said there were times when she had to take things to the pawnshop or choose which bill to pay for the month. Although there were people who really seemed to be affected by what they were experiencing, Fisher said that some who had never experienced this situation were not taking it serious enough.

Just Harvest is an advocacy organization that promotes economic justice and works to influence public policy and to educate, empower, and mobilize the citizens of the community to eliminate hunger and poverty.

After the simulation, there was a discussion period, where participants and volunteers were given the opportunity to share what experiences they have had with poverty and what they thought about the simulation.

Before the simulation, a member of Just Harvest gave a few statistics that were alarming. In Allegheny County, 22 percent of residents live on a low-income, 34 percent of children come from low-income families and 20 percent of elderly live on a low-income.

“I’ve never had to live in conditions like this (dealing with poverty) and it hurts my heart to know that people have to live like this. The statistics (that were given) were striking,” Paul Spradley, an African-American participant and student at Robert Morris University, said. “I think people who came to this event looking for something to take away from this experience, did take something away.”

He also said that there needs to be more of an awareness made and that more people need to participate in a simulation like this.

Claypool said that often times low-income individuals are mistreated because of stereotypes of what a person living with a low-income are like. He said, “We also want to get out there that people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, no matter who they are and their situation. Especially when they are trying to better their situation. Often times because one person abuses the system, everyone gets a stigma of doing it.”

Just Harvest will continue to do simulations like this. For more information on the simulation or the organization, call 412-431-8960 or visit www.justharvest.org.