Today we had a few community interviews that were great. However, the highlight of my day took place during the poverty simulation. We each split up into simulated families that were struggling financially. My role was that of a 9 year old boy with only a single father and sister. It became extremely frustrating throughout the simulation because of many things. One example was the need for public transportation. Everywhere we went required 2 bus passes per person and many times we were stuck at home. I only attended school twice when I should have gone 5 times. This was not because I was being "lazy" but because I had to babysit my sisters baby while she looked for part time work. I was once taken to "juvy" for being at home alone. The reason I was home alone was not because of intentional neglect but more because of hunger, my family was out trying to find work to buy us food. This simulation was great to shine a light from a different perspective that I was used to. It made me aware of the day to day struggles that this demographic faces and how much harder it would make something like going to college!
Chad Knight
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