The Good Shepherd Catholic Community walked a mile in another person’s shoes during their poverty simulation last weekend at the church. Over 100 people gathered to role-play the lives of low-income families and interact with human service agencies, grocers, pawnbrokers, bill collectors, job interviewers, police officers and many others.
"As participants arrived, they were assigned to a family and given a family member role, either a father, mother or child,” outreach ministries coordinator Kathy Guarino says. “They are also given information regarding their family’s situation. For example, they may be in a family where the dad has lost his job and the mom is working but is not making enough money to cover all of the expenses for the family.”
Kathy says participants had to decide how to pay for their mortgage, rent, utilities, food and medical bills while facing challenging circumstances.
"The decisions are difficult to make as the participants have to make trade-offs, such as deciding to buy food or pay the mortgage,” outreach council member Deb McNamara says. “They can’t afford to do both.”
After the simulation, a Q&A session was held between the attendants and groups that assist impoverished families living in Northeast Tarrant County, including GRACE Grapevine, Catholic Charities Fort Worth and TXU Energy. GRACE chief executive officer Shonda Schaefer says the goal of the simulation was to put poverty into perspective for those who don't experience it. Based on the feedback they received from participants, she feels that goal was met.
“Participants typically walk away from these simulations with a deeper understanding of the struggles families face in making basic ends meet,” Shonda says. “There are now over 100 people in our community who have a better understanding of the needs and are prepared to get involved with the solution.”
The Good Shepherd Catholic Community has a list of community partners that help address poverty and hunger in their communities. To learn more about those organizations and how you can help, visit GSCC.net.