According to WelfareInfo.org, the average poverty rate in Wisconsin is 12.3%, which means about 1 in 8 people live in poverty; the rate in Rock County is above that average at 14.3% or about 1 in 7. Living in poverty can mean choosing between buying gas for your vehicle, if you have one, or buying food for yourself and your family.

On Sunday, October 2, 1:15-3:15pm, St. John’s and BASE are co-hosting a poverty simulation at St. John’s. The poverty simulation is designed to help participants begin to understand what it might be like to live in a typical low-income family trying to survive from month to month. It is a simulation, not a game. The object is to sensitize participants to the realities faced by low-income people. These include institutionalized power structures, public policy, time constraints, lack of transportation, and facing multiple challenges at one time. Participants will experience firsthand the pressures that push families into making difficult decisions.

We need people to participate in the simulation (44-88), and we need people to help with the simulation (14-22)! If you are interested in either of these opportunities, please contact Amy Floan.