There are few moments in your life where you can truly say “this was a life changing experience”
Last night I had the opportunity to attend “Living on the Edge” at NUVO Network in Burlington that was organized by the United Way Halton & Hamilton. This event was booked as a “poverty simulation workshop” and most of the attendees didn’t really know what to expect.
As we entered the room we were put into our groups. Some were in groups of different numbers and quickly took our seats.
I was assembled in a group of 3 and my new name was Quinten Quant who was a 40-year-old single father of a 20-year-old and 9-year-old and grand father to a 1 year old. Each of the groups were given scenarios based on real life examples of people who live in poverty. Quinten works 40 hours a week making $10.75 per hour but with a long list of expenses like food, day care, and transportation costs.
Each of the families were given a package of items, household items, jewellery, and appliances along with other details of the life. In our situation our 9-year-old had a disability and asthma that required medication and special care.
We were quickly told the “rules” of the simulation. There were tables around the room ranging from a grocery store, childcare, our general employer along with other places like a pawn shop, payday loan company, jail and some social services for those who felt they needed it.
To be able to get to one of these tables, we needed transportation credit. If not, we were sent away unable to get the help we needed.
A month of living divided up into 4 weeks….15 minutes per week. The whistle quickly blew, and we were off.
As with real life you have to deal with your situations without much thought to prepare and you have make very quick decisions.
In our first “week” of life I was attempting to get to my employer but had to ensure I had enough transportation tokens to make it there all week. A flurry of activity and some confusion with all the different groups lining up to go to work, take their children to childcare, some went shopping for groceries if they had the resources to do so. My head was spinning while waiting in line watching others attempt to figure out how to make things work. Then it was my turn to go to work.
I was greeted by the “boss” very curtly and was told I was late and if it kept happening Id be out of a job. I tried to stammer out the reason being there were 20 people in line ahead of me, but the time was limited. After given some work to do, I went back up to get my paycheque. Feeling good I quickly went to the bank at other table to cash my cheque, but by the time I got to the teller, the bank was closed.
Feeling a little frustrated at that fact I was forced to run over to the Pay Day Loan Cheque cashing company only to find they took an insane amount of a percentage from that pay and I was forced to purchase some more transportation. 12 minutes went fast which left 3 minutes for the weekend. As I returned “home” I found a note saying one of my children was in jail for missing school. I then had to use up one of my transportation credits to pick them up and return home. I was totally focused on earning the money, I let other details go and the family was left to their own devices.
The clock continued to tick and before you could get the briefest of discussion and plan set for the next “week” everyone was off and running. The next thing I know, I was late for work for the week, and didn’t receive a paycheque.
The dominos of confusion tumbled and a feeling of panic continued to rise as those of us were running around tying to figure out how “to win” are at least get a step ahead as we tried to scramble around to see where we were going to get money for utilities and more transportation.
Sadly, due to circumstances, we neglected to get food at the store which meant that our family of 4 did not have food for the week.
The whistle blew and it was now “week 3” – March break. We’re going to figure things out and get a handle on the situation and we tried to allocate tasks for the 20-year-old in the family who had to take care of a 9 and one year old.
They were going to pay the outstanding bills that were left on our home’s door, get food and I was going to make sure I didn’t miss another weeks worth of wages.
Needless to say, this continued on for another half hour which represented another 2 weeks and before we knew it, time was up, and we returned to an eviction notice on the door. I got the pay cheque but didn’t pay the bills on time and our family ended up homeless.
This is just a quick summation of just one of the scenarios that were handed out to everyone in attendance.
The crowd in attendance was now exhausted, both physically and mentally. We were now seeing what can happen if life happens and we lose control. During the debriefing, some of the participants commented on the challenges they faced over the “four-week period”
The feedback from the crowd afterwards was not expected and almost surprising. Some admitted to being confused and unsure of what to do when the bills came due. One said they went to the pawn shop with most of their belongings to get cash to pay for food and rent.
It was almost shocking to hear that some of the participants had resorted to and admitted afterwards that they resorted to walking around stealing from other homes.
What seemed impossible to comprehend at first, this is the position many in poverty find themselves.
Young people and old turning to crime in order to make money to buy food. What would seem like an impossible decision for some of us to make during the simulation, is made daily by people living in poverty.
To say this exercise initiated some raw emotions is an understatement. Our debriefing after elicited some very real responses by those in attendance. After I got in my car, after going to the local coffee shop to head back home, with food in the fridge, with the lights on … it hit me. This was just a glimpse; a meager hour of my life that I had to deal with these issues. Others have to deal with this every single day.
A world of thank you’s goes to the people in charge of organizing this event. Many of us didn’t know what to expect as we entered the room, but things were clearer as we left the room. Poverty is an issue that needs a multi faceted approach to solving it. It will require all levels of government to look at finding the solutions in cooperation with service agencies and organizations like UWHH and with the community as a whole.
This was just one of the #UnIgnorable issues that face the Halton and Hamilton community. This is why its so important to support our local agencies and the United Way Halton & Hamilton. To learn more please visit www.unitedwayhh.ca