Program Overview
What if you had a decent job and needed to get to work, but your children’s caretaker got sick, what would you do then? What if you saved up enough to pay your rent, but you blow a tire in your only vehicle? How do you choose what to do and what to let go? How do you feed your kids, keep your job, and live your best life? These are just some of the challenges low-income families face every day. When you’re teetering on the edge, it doesn’t take much to fall into a crisis situation.
Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS)
-
Summary
Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS) is a unique opportunity to help people understand what life is like for the 45 million Americans living at or below the poverty line. It’s a team-building activity with a powerful message. We work with numerous groups and companies to help their members and staff understand the realities of poverty through this role playing “game”. If you are interested in participating in CAPS, please contact the Outreach Department at 816.358.6868, Ext. 8363 or by email.
-
A month in the life
Each participant will be assigned a persona: name, gender, age, physical health, and financial situation. You may be an elderly person suffering from chronic asthma or a high school student with a propensity for skipping school. The object is to remove participants from their normal settings and create an alternative life simulation. The simulation lasts one “month” (about 2.5 hours total), which is broken up into four 15-minute “weeks”. The object of the activity is to finish the month with your bills paid and your family fed. Can you make it a month in poverty?
Guidelines
CAPS is a FREE program open to companies, churches, schools, etc.
We ask that you set up the space for the event, a diagram will be provided.
We ask you to provide a venue that can accommodate 40-80 participants.
We utilize community volunteers to play the parts of shop owners, bankers, teachers, and tellers.