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Walking a mile in the shoes of poverty

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Simulation held at park pavilion
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Leader Photo by Jason Arndt Muffy Culhane, board member of SAM25, attempts to take out a loan from Robert Little, of Gresham, during a poverty simulation exercise Thursday at the Shawano Lake County Park pavilion.

Leader Photo by Jason Arndt Cari Schindel, of Gillett, and Dr. Sagar Shah, of Madison, review their family information packet for the poverty simulation Thursday at the Shawano Lake County Park pavilion.

More than 40 area residents walked a mile in the shoes of people living in poverty at a simulation Thursday at the Shawano Lake County Park pavilion.

The event was sponsored by Shawano Area Matthew 25, ThedaCare, Thrivent Financial and the University of Wisconsin-Extension.

Nancy Schultz, family living educator at the UW-Extension, was pleased with the turnout.

“I was hoping to have 30 to 40 people attend, and we surpassed that,” Schultz said.

The simulation was designed to sensitize participants to the issue and to expose them to the day-to-day challenges faced by low-income families in Shawano County and elsewhere.

According to the United States Census, 11.5 percent of Shawano County resident live below the poverty line.

Each participant was assigned roles within a family and given a budget, which included rent, utilities, weekly food allotments, clothing expenses and loan payments. They also were forced to deal with family emergencies and medical issues.

They were also given fake money to pay their bills and other living expenses, but Schultz noted the simulation was not a game.

“This is not Monopoly,” she said. “This is real, based on real-life experiences of a low-income family.”

Participants were required to learn about community resources such as FoodShare, pawn shops, legal aid and banking services.

Some participants expressed frustration about the long wait to enroll in FoodShare.

“Think about how tough and frustrating it is for them to go through the process,” Schultz said.

One scenario included a single parent trying to make ends meet while dealing with a problematic child.

“It was difficult to believe and trust my child while I went to pay my bills,” Diane Patza, of Shawano, said, recounting the simulation.

Christy Hay, of Shawano, said she learned a greater appreciation for the challenges faced by low-income families.

“I felt disillusioned by it all,” she said. “I lost trust in people and trust in agencies.”

The simulation showed, Schultz said, that addressing poverty requires a communitywide effort and multiple support resources.

“Poverty is huge in this community,” she said. “People need to be sympathetic and listen to the needs of people that are struggling and lend a helping hand when needed.”

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