By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
A “Community Action Poverty Simulation” to be held Saturday at Princeton University’s Frist Campus Center will help hundreds of people to experience what it’s like to be one of the many New Jersey residents who live in poverty.
Organized by the Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton and Princeton University’s Student Volunteer Council, the event relies on having participants role-play as a person living in poverty, using a simulation kit developed by Missouri Community Action.
The kit will provide participants with the identity of one of a variety of family profiles typical of those living in poverty. They will assume that identity for the duration of the event, which is the fourth annual simulation organized by the Crisis Ministry.
”This event will help people understand the complexities and frustrations of living in poverty day to day,” said Marcia MacKillop, the assistant director of the Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton. “With a greater awareness of its impact, we can more effectively address the poverty issues in our community.”
Participants will experience four 15-minute “weeks” in which they will be forced to seek food, shelter and other necessities for their families while living on a severely limited budget. Other participants will represent social service agencies, landlords, police, pawnbrokers and utility companies.
Tables at the event will represent institutions common to those living in poverty, like county social service agencies, prisons, childcare businesses and pawnshops.
The current list of attendees includes high school and college students, civic and community group members, churchgoers, and others. A handful of people relying on the Crisis Ministry’s services will be on hand to meet with the participants as well, according to Ms. MacKillop.
Part of the event will include a discussion on the importance of interacting with low-income families and community service, and understanding poverty as it exists in the community and elsewhere.
Statistics provided by the Crisis Ministry indicate that approximately 730,000 New Jersey residents have incomes below the federal poverty level, which is $17,710 per year for a family of three. Approximately 1 in 10 New Jersey children live in poverty.
The Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton is a nonprofit organization with offices in both municipalities. It has been in existence for 28 years, and provides food services to 1,400 families a month.
That number represents a 30 percent increase since August, according to documents provided by the organization, which indicate that another 100 families come to the Crisis Ministry for financial assistance with paying rent, security deposits, utilities, and medical prescriptions.
Approximately 10 spots remain for would-be participants, although the number could change for the event, which is scheduled for four hours between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Persons interested in remaining participant spots or the ministry’s services can contact the Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton at 609-396-9355 ext. 12, or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Another poverty simulation event took place at Westminster Choir College on Wednesday, during Rider University’s Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.
Students who attended a hunger banquet were given random dinner tickets, which entitled them to one of a variety of meals on a hunger spectrum, demonstrating the disparity of dinner options among people with adequate incomes and people living in poverty.
The lucky participants were treated to a sit-down, tablecloth meal, while others received a family-style casserole.
Students receiving tickets representing poverty-level meal options were forced to consume bowls of rice while standing up or sitting on the floor, as a representation of how poverty affects one’s eating options.

