A Poverty Simulation Experience staged by Action Inc. and Clarion County Rural Family Economic Success (RuFES) will be held Nov. 20 at 1 p.m. in the Gemmell Student Complex Multi-Purpose Room at Clarion University.

            The poverty simulation experience is designed to help participants begin to understand what it might be like to live in a typical low-income family trying to survive from month to month. It is a simulation, not a game. The object is to sensitize participants to the realities faced by low-income people.

            In the simulation, 44 to 80 participants assume the roles of up to 26 different families facing poverty. The task of the "families" is to provide for basic necessities and shelter during the course of four 15-minute "weeks."

            The simulation is conducted in a large room with the "families" seated in groups in the center. The experience lasts approximately 2 hours. It includes an introduction and briefing, the actual simulation exercise, and a debriefing period in which participants and volunteer staffers share their feelings and experiences and talk about what they have learned about the lives of people in poverty.
            Rev. Clara Belloit, chair of the Clarion County Salvation Army, board member of Clarion-Jefferson Community Action, Inc., and United Methodist pastor will be leading the Poverty Simulation Experience with the assistance of the Clarion RuFES Task Force and Dr. Jerry Belloit, chairperson Clarion University Department of Finance.
            Clarion University's College of Business Graduate Student Association and Rho Epsilon, the Real Estate Fraternity; Clarion-Jefferson Community Action, Inc.; and the Rural Family Economic Success Task Force are sponsoring the event.
            Clarion University is the high-achieving, nationally recognized, comprehensive university that delivers a personal and challenging academic experience.