TRAININGS

HOST A POVERTY SIMULATION: 

More than 300,000 Kansans live in economic poverty!

WHY? 

Unemployment? Addiction? Debt? Bad Decisions? Maybe there's more to it...

A Poverty Simulation is an opportunity for community members, volunteers, students, and employees to experience the real-life situations surrounding poverty. 

This 3-hour educational experience will demonstrate the firsthand challenges of poverty to recognize its complex issues and observe the systemic barriers in our society. 

COULD ANY OF US SURVIVE A MONTH IN POVERTY? 

In 2023, nearly 352,000 people, or 12% of the Kansas population lived in poverty. The Newton school system is near the 50% mark for students receiving free and reduced lunches. The economic downturn of the past years has destabilized our community and the use of emergency food pantries has increased. 

It is difficult for those of us who have enough to truly understand the situations that families living in poverty experience every day- the decisions they have to make, and the fears and frustrations they feel. That is why we invite YOU to ‘walk a mile’ in the shoes of those facing poverty by participating in a poverty simulation. 

This Poverty Simulation is a tool designed to break down the stereotypes of what poverty, and what living in the “tyranny of the moment” can be like. During the three-hour simulation, participants will have the opportunity to live one month in poverty - divided into four weeks.