On October 6th, Poverty Solutions will offer two back-to-back events to engage the University of Michigan in thinking about Poverty. First, Scott Allard will give a talk about the rise of suburban poverty. Then, there will be a Poverty Simulation open to all U of M students. The goal of the Poverty Simulation is to begin to understand what it might be like for a typical low-income family to survive from month to month. The simulation framework was carefully developed by the Missouri Community Action Network, a nationally recognized community-based organization with expertise developing experiential learning models on poverty-related issues.

You may register for either of the two events separately, or choose to attend both. Note that Dr. Allard's keynote is open to anyone, while the Poverty Simulation is open only to U-M students of all levels. Please see the Poverty Simulation Registration page for more details on the specifics of that event.

While this exercise does not fully reflect what it is like to live in poverty, it is designed to give participants specific realistic challenges associated with feeding your family, paying your bills, finding employment, and navigating many more challenges. The goal is to have students reflect and learn ways to take action, promote justice, and be an ally to those living in a real state of poverty. Want to know more? Check out the FAQs: http://poverty.umich.edu/poverty-simulation-event_faq/

The agenda for the day will be as follows:
12pm: Keynote Address by Scott Allard, Professor at the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington
1pm-2pm: Lunch Reception for Dr. Allard's talk; Check-in for Poverty Simulation
2pm: Simulation Begins
4:30pm-5:30pm: Debrief & Expert Panel

*Simulation is now FULL. Talk is open to the public.