It’s been 50 years since the “War on Poverty” was launched. Around 15% of Illinois residentscurrently live in poverty, the same percentage of a half century ago. Universities, non-profits, and other organizations are teaming up to draw attention to the unrelenting problem. The University of Illinois Springfield is hosting a series of poverty-related events in the coming year. The first was a “poverty simulation.”
A blonde young woman dressed in a red patterned blouse and jeans just ran across the gymnasium at UIS's recreation center to get to the “Food-A-Rama Super Center.” She's making sure her family has groceries for the coming week. “It says $120 per month in food stamps and apparently since I've used them up the first week, I had to pay a little bit in cash and I'm currently unemployed and my boyfriend is fulltime and he's off working, and he supplies most of the income,” she explained. She may be unemployed, but she has her hands full: “I have a one year old baby named Kurt, isn't he cute?”
Fortunately for 22 year old UIS student Jessica Larson, this is not her real life. But it is a chance to see what life is like for those with little money and a lot of struggle. That baby Larson is holding is just a rag-doll. The senior biology major says what she's learning today is relatable. “I'm currently engaged right now myself, and so just learning about this stuff will give me an idea. You know, of course we won't have a lot of money starting out and learning about these situations will help me learn how to budget out,” said Larson.
Larson doesn't have long to talk, she's off to pay the bills. She's one of about 50 participants today. In the center of the gym are clusters of chairs that represent family homes and neighborhoods. Surrounding them are tables representing places like the grocery store and schools. People are scrambling to get their unique budgets and life situations in order, they also navigate common hurdles, like having their children unexpectedly let out of school early because of a water main break.
Christine Westerlund is in charge of the chaos here. She's with the Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies and has hosted poverty simulations for other universities and organizations around the state. She says she's barely seen anyone make it through the exercise successfully. Those who do best says Westerlund, are the participants who in real life are elderly women making due with social security payments. “Typically they are the ones who are most organized and are willing to survive, and they sacrifice but they are usually able to get their prescriptions, they're usually able to pay their bills and pay their rent. So those are usually the only ones that I have witnessed so far that are successful,” said Westerlund.
While students may not make it through the event with a bank account in the black, maybe Ronetta Buckner will have better luck. Even though she's pretending to be a teenager today - it's clear she's in charge of her virtual family. “My father is divorced, he's a single father of three. I'm 13 so I'm the oldest. I have a brother who has asthma and learning disabilities and this is the baby, so when I Ieft school, I got my brother from school first and then I picked up the baby from daycare and came home and now I'm waiting for my feather to arrive,” said Buckner. Back in the real world, Buckner works with the Springfield Housing Authority. “It's reality, which I deal with every day. That is actually my job, is to help my participants become self-sufficient so I refer them to a lot of the agencies that are actually here so I am very aware of what's going on, it's just putting my own self in those shoes,” said Buckner.
The poverty simulation allows participants to maneuver their way through a world that nearly 2 million Illinois residents face 24/7. A family of four earning less than $24,000 a year is considered to be in poverty. And it's more of a problem among minorities and women. A half century after the national “War on Poverty” was declared, Christine Westerlund says there's still a long way to go.
“The war has not yet been won, but you know - the thing is what we need to do is bring awareness to the next generation that there (are) still issues that needs to be addressed - inequality that needs to be in conversation ... This is really what this is, is heightening awareness about poverty,” said Westerlund. This event is the first part of a 'War on Poverty' forum being held at UIS - a film and panel discussion will follow in October and November. A Heartland Alliance report on Illinois ranks Macon County among those with the highest poverty risk factors, including unemployment, teen births and high school graduation rates.
