Flashback Friday: Poverty Simulation

 Hello world!

Friday October 1st my class had a very interesting extra credit opportunity. We, along with other medical based student, got to experience a small slice of poverty through a simulation provided by EAST TEXAS HUMAN NEEDS NETWORK (ETHNN). While at first I was a little happy to get some piece of home in Huntsville our director soon made us realize just how prevalent poverty is in our 1st world country. Now of course poverty looks different between many different countries, but the statistics about how many people living from pay check shocked me. You might be asking what these statistics were. Here's a few from 2018 from Poverty USA:

• 11.8% of people in the US lived in poverty; that's equivalent to 38.1 million people
• 1 in every 6 US children lived in poverty
• 14.1% of US seniors lived in poverty

And then there's this statistic from Living Wage Calculator.

• The poverty threshold in 2019 for a family of four was $26,172 dollars but in Tyler, TX alone a living wage for a family of four, with both parents working, after taxes is $64,319 (2.5 times more than the threshold)

Shocking right? I mean how could a country that prints money and has jobs open every single day have such an issue as this?

When we started the simulation we soon found the answer. We were each given a role in a family with a profile sheet, street address, starting amount of money, and even possessions which we could pawn if need be. I was Ned the grandfather of the family who was unable to work due to being on disability after a stroke. My contribution to the family was my disability check of $350. All seemed well for about the first week, but we soon realized what a struggle it was with only one person in the household having a job and having limited ability to travel. Even though we had two cars there's always the cost of gas to consider. We could walk, but that takes a lot time and energy from someone in the household. Hence how the supplied us with limited transportation cards. Every time we wanted to go somewhere we had to give one of these up. Then bad news, someone was already selling drugs and the police were giving out award money to anyone who could catch them.

We got week two and our mom of the family was sick so, we needed to go the grocery store to get medication. Unfortunately I, Ned, had to go to the local Municipal Office to renew our EBT card. Well, I had to have to card on me and when I went to the grocery store to pick up that months groceries the store took my card and didn't give it back. I tried to go back to store and they told me someone else from the family got. I asked my family and no one had it. So, someone stole our EBT card and I was not happy. Even worse by the end of the end of next week our mortgage would be due and we did not have the money for that. My teen granddaughter was unable to find a job and with mom sick she couldn't go find a job either. On to of that I used part of my disability check to pay off my car loan. We were so desperate I tried going to the pawn shop to sell some of our stuff and they told me they were only selling, not buying. The clerk even tried to get me to buy a gun. What kind of pawn shop was this? I tried talking to some of the neighbors and turns out someone got so desperate they accused someone of being the drug dealer. Later on a learn it was the family down the street (a few feet down) who's grandmother had gone to prison.

The three week came and we scrambled to get money together before our mortgage lady put us on the street. I went back to the pawn shop and this time they were buying, but they very obviously scammed me. I was selling a stereo worth $100 and they only gave me $45 for it. Unfortunately mom had to sell one of the cars to pay the mortgage, but dad's paycheck came through and we officially had some money to float on again. Mom also went to see if she could get a job, but the unemployment line was super long and they basically told her that she didn't qualify for their aid. How does one without a job not qualify for help getting a job? Just when things seems ok again we got robbed at gunpoint! Yes a man with a gun walked in our home and demanded money. We gave him $5 dollars and he left. All of a sudden I really wished I bought that gun. Then there was dad wondering if we should start stealing to which I told him we weren't.

The fourth week was much easier in comparison to the third. Now that we had some money we could pay the utilities bill, buy more transport passes, and get back to the municipal office  to report the EBT card as stolen (which we didn't find out we could do until this very week). So, we go and they give us another card, but it's only got $47 on it. Even as a college student I know that we food runs low that's not enough to feed your family and yourself, but that's what we were given. I even dropped by the local church and they had resources to help us, but it wasn't exactly the most advertised thing on the block. When people were desperate they pawned things first and then maybe stole, but the "Faith center" gave out coupons for food and medicine, had resources to help you find a job, and even had resources for childcare if you needed it. I was incredibly upset that we didn't use this resource to being with!

The major thing that I learned from this experience is that many people are struggling in more than just a financial way. There's the stress of trying to keep yourself afloat and not having enough resources to being with. Then if you don't know where you can get help or you don't have the means to get to the help then you might end up doing some things that aren't exactly right, but you want to live decently so bad. The fact that all it takes is one bad day to put you in a homeless shelter or in jail is crazy, but it's reality. As someone who's lived above the poverty threshold probably most of my life I don't think about this very often, but as someone who wants to help people I should.

Those who live in poverty tend to be at a higher risk for health issues because they can't buy quality food. In fact according to ETHNN one of the healthcare needs of those with or without insurance was dental care. If someone is having trouble with their mouth they're definitely having trouble with their eating. Someone with tooth pain won't want to eat as much and could be at risk for malnutrition. When someone lives on a budget they're more likely to buy the foods that will later impact their health for worst because too often those are the cheap foods. In fact poverty has been associated with lower life expectancy (AAFP). 

This simulation made me see the world just a little differently by getting me out of my little bubble of comfort. In fact it makes me excited to see what it's like to do community work as a dietitian. My dream is in pediatrics, but overall I just really live help others and the communities I've been planted in need it more than I probably realize.