One hundred forty central New Yorkers learned first hand what it's like to live in the grip of poverty this week. Visions for Change shined a light on the issue through it's poverty simulation.
Ashlee Hines works at the homeless shelter at the Salvation Army in Syracuse. You’d think she’d be aware of some of the issues people living in poverty face, but playing the role of a mom, going to school, working, and taking care of children was an eye opener.
"What I had to do was really hard. I kind of panicked,” Hines said. “And I know how to do day-to-day stuff.”
Ellen Aldrich, another Salvation Army employee who took on the role of a teenager, says it’s hard to understand the day to day barriers – until you live it. Playing a teen, she was basically left alone.
“It kind of opened my eyes that teens and latch key kids are at a disadvantage, and it’s an opportunity for them to go out, get in trouble -- commit crimes," Aldrich said.
Rhonda O’Connor, of Visions for Change, hopes the play acting educates the community, and looks for ways to break down the barriers. O’Connor says the biggest barrier keeping many people in poverty in central New York today is a lack of transportation.
“We have individuals who go through our program and they really are able to get this job and the busses don’t go out there for second shift,” O’Connor said. “They only go so far and they have to walk the rest of the way.”
The stories that are part of the simulation are based on the lives of 15 families who live in poverty.
