Reflection On Poverty Simulation

Serving these populations is much more than serving food but also considering each individual’s unique story in its entirety. Some may have a dark past, some suffer from addiction, and others lose faith. As a hospital volunteer, I also served patients by spending quality time and assisting their needs. By simply understanding their viewpoint, I influenced them to believe in hope for a greater future. I learned that to effectively provide care for others, it is necessary to consider all the small scenes that combine to produce each person’s story. Compassion and service toward my patients are the sole ingredients for effective

Upon arriving to the Poverty simulation, I did not know what to expect. After being able to interact with my peers to understand what it was like to be living in poverty, I got a better understand of what it entails. I quickly wanted to know what the rate of poverty was in Greensboro alone. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, they estimated 268,232 people whose status is poverty in 2013. 29% of that estimate are subjects who are under 18 years old. Out of 268,323, females are about 141,000 of it. The top two races that tend to hold a poverty status are Caucasian and African Americans. The problem at hand is that this status is nationwide.

Understand how to prevent poverty has been a great concern within the United States and across the globe. Many people believe that if you live in poverty you are lazy and you put yourself in that position. Well that is just not the case. Having said that, while I was doing the simulation, I noticed that I had to make difficult decisions that would result in whether or not I would make enough money to pay bills and keep my family intact. I know what it's like to live in poverty. I've experienced what it's like to have no running water or no electricity. When my parents came to the United States in the 90's they had a tough time getting situated in Nashville, Tennessee. When my mother had me and brother, everything seemed to be going well for

A class assignment on the cost of living showed me that if I were to take a minimum wage job right out of high school, I would be living barely above the poverty line. I’m fortunate that I’ve never had to worry about basic needs, however, if I were suddenly on my own, I would need two jobs to afford food and a place to live in my area. This exercise made me realize the incredible difficulties many people face just to subsist. For me, it translates into this fundamental problem: If a person working full-time cannot earn enough to provide food and shelter for themselves, the system is failing them.

To begin, professional responsibility is a concept that not only relates to you, but it relates to the society as well. When making decisions businesses have to consider how their decisions affect various communities. This puts business in a dilemma; however, the company’s values should allow them to make the correct decision when faced with these dilemmas.

The United States Census Bureau reported in a recent news release that one in five children receive food stamps. The report continues to notate statistics that this is a dramatic increase from the one in eight children that received benefits prior to the recession as of 2007, and that the number of children living in single parent households has tripled from the information gathered in 1940. (1) These parents struggle on a daily basis to provide for their children in a manner that is barely comfortable by middle class standards. Aside from the challenge of providing basic nutrition, these parents are challenged with furnishing their families with a roof over their heads, basic utilities, a safe child care experience, and sufficient clothing to wear to school. These parents already have to sift through hand me downs from relatives and community organizations for clothing with minimal stains and shoes without holes in them. When their utilities are about to be shut off, they sometimes wait in lines for hours for a small grant to help keep the lights on and the house warm. They have to bow their heads in shame when asking for the help of their churches and local community. They do everything in their power to provide a sense of normalcy to their children’s lives. Their children are already left out of school and extracurricular activities because they cannot afford the costs and are often working during the times that these activities are taking place. When an occasional treat

My own loss sparked a desire to help others through tough times. I therefore began volunteering at the Orlando Regional Medical Center, where I consoled people going through those times, and let them disclose their feelings with tears and words the way I needed to when I was in their shoes. Unfortunately, I also met people who were dying and had no visitors to support them through their death. For instance, I visited a woman on several occasions and shared a few laughs and stories with her. She ultimately died from C. difficile over a period of three weeks in the hospital. At those moments, I was glad patients like her had someone with them, even if I was a stranger to them. Still, there were much happier occasions where families learned their sons and daughters and parents were alive, recovering, or asking for their company. Through all this, I recognized the fear and pain they felt, and helped them move forward. Care, compassion, and empathy are all

The poverty Simulation gives you an understanding of families living in poverty and a chance to live through their struggle. During the poverty simulation I was a 52 year old aged grandfather named Warron Wiscott with no high school diploma. I was a diabetic and had mobility problems ending with me not being able to work anymore so I started receiving disability. I lived in a small house, in which I was still paying off the first and second mortgage. My wife was the only one working full time. Since I was disabled I had to stay home with my grandchildren who had just moved in with us when my daughter was incarcerated for drug use. I felt that by being disabled I wasn’t bringing much into the family. Sure I was getting five hundred dollars a month but as a person myself I felt like a lazy bum just sitting around doing nothing. I wish that I had been able to go buy groceries to help out my family since we didn't buy food for about two weeks.

About a decade ago my mother, sisters, and I had lived alone in a small apartment. Our meals consisted of frozen beans, rice, and occasional food given to us by our elderly neighbor, Brenda Gibson. Mrs.Gibson was an extraordinary woman who’d babysit my sisters and I while our mother worked the late night shifts at the local senior center. My mother had no choice, her regular shifts could only cover one-fourth of the bills, and because she spent her days working she never had time to spend with her growing daughters. I did not know it at the time, but my family was being mangled by the ice cold fingers of poverty, digging itself deep into our bones, and trying to suck out our happiness, a scene lived by many other families in our neighborhood. Although my family made it out alright, a question remains regarding the rest of America and the future of it’s struggling families. What are the characteristics of children experiencing poverty in America and how do their characteristics affect and influence their life choices? Not only was this question influenced by my own experience but also by “A Place at the Table,” a documentary directed by Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush, explaining and showing the connection between poverty and the economy.

Many working families find themselves struggling to make a decent living as jobs and resources are becoming more difficult to find. In 2011, close to 46 million people were receiving food stamps and federal spending on temporary assistance was $17.1 billion. This statistic sky rocketed from 2007, when only 26.3 million people were on this program. With this statistic alone, it is apparent that this policy is failing our system. When the War on Poverty began in the 1960’s, the aim of this program was “not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it.” These days, many people on welfare are less capable of self-sufficiency than they were when these services began. This creates a cycle within families and does not allow children to develop successfully if they are not taught how to be

Beginning both poverty simulations, I was optimistic that I would be able to manage leisure, work, and family time. That was not the case. In each simulation, I was bombarded with decisions that forced me to make concessions. As part of the international simulation, I learned the importance of time management in regards to poverty. After the domestic simulation, I experienced the immediate effects of each decision I made on my pocketbook and wellbeing.

The Frontline video “Poor Kids,” describes three families that have lived the consequences of poverty. Due to poor income, unemployment or low paying jobs, some of these families lost everything. Some of them went from living a decent life, earning thousands of dollars in a month to working in a job that didn’t nearly paid as much. This lead to the loss of properties and commodities. For instance, two out of the three families at some point had to move out of their houses because they couldn’t afford to pay for rent.

I would’ve never predicted how amazing the effects of my visit to the nursing home would be. After greeting the elderly and holding conversations with each and every one of them, I was amazed by how appreciative they were for my visit. Perhaps they felt lonely or abandoned before, but now tears of joy glistened in their eyes. Maybe all people need is to know they are cared for, even by a simple stranger. Moreover, I was stunned by the optimism they had for their future, even at old age. They were so youthful in spirit, regardless of their frail bodies. They were selfless enough to tell me to take care of myself, even if they were the ones in wheelchairs. It taught me that happiness can exist, even at old age, regardless of discouraging circumstances or diminishing

I attended my 1st Poverty Simulation my Junior year and assumed the role of a single mother with a live-in boyfriend. I was randomly assigned my role and only had the background information contained in the folder to guide my character. There were vendors situated around the room that performed different tasks. There was a police man and a thief that added more stressors to the stimulation. The “weeks” were in 15-minute intervals and there was a total of four weeks. During each week, you were required to do numerous tasks such as pay

Businesses have the responsibility to tackle the issue of poverty in the communities that are affected by them. To learn more about poverty, I have completed two online poverty simulations.