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Poverty simulation shows just how Central Albertans scrape by

Feb 22, 2018 | 2:21 PM

A firsthand lesson in poverty was taught this week by the United Way and Central Alberta Poverty Reduction Alliance (CAPRA).

More than 70 people took park in a poverty simulation which aimed to show just how many things people and families struggle with and how difficult it can be to survive on a month to month or even daily basis.

Dianna Souveny with The City of Red Deer’s Social Planning department also helps facilitate with CAPRA. She says if you’ve never lived in poverty, it’s hard to identify with what others are going through.

“It’s very impactful for participants and volunteers to be on both sides of the table. They see the daily struggle that people living on low income in our community would deal with,” she says. “Those include everything from not having enough money to getting transportation tickets, to having to line up, to places being closed when they get there — dealing with all those things and trying to keep food on the table and shelter over their heads.”

Souveny says there should be a focus on how we could do things differently.

“A living wage might be one of those aspects,” she says. “A lot of it is how we treat people and just that awareness of what people struggle with and looking at people as individuals and trying to meet their needs where they’re at.”

According to a 2016 report by CAPRA, a living wage for each parent in a four person family would be $13.81 per hour. A lone parent with one child would have to make $14.10 and of course be working enough hours.

Currently, CAPRA is working on a needs assessment for The City around poverty and poverty reduction, which Souveny notes changes with economic trends. It’s supposed to be complete by the end of 2019, she says.

“We’re never going to completely eliminate poverty,” Souveny says. “The more work we can do to help people from getting into poverty rather than getting them out of it, those are the kinds of things we want to put into place.”

Following the poverty simulation, Souveny says participants said they were stressed, anxious and frustrated.

“People resort to things they wouldn’t normally resort to just to meet their family’s basic needs. Words we heard from people that were acting as seniors were things like isolation and loneliness. People playing the role of children often said they felt like their parents didn’t have any time for them because they were so busy just meeting their basic needs.”

Among many from the public, the Mayor, City Manager and other City staff also took part in the poverty simulation.

CAPRA and Red Deer College are currently running a poverty awareness survey as part of the needs assessment. The survey will help RDC research in assisting CAPRA to understand more about poverty in Red Deer. All who take it are entered into a draw for a $50 gift card.

The survey is available here.