Ossining Educators Participate in Poverty Simulation Experience

During a poverty simulation experience at Ossining High School the first week of May, educators and community leaders role-played to learn about some of the real-life struggles that families in need face every day.

Each “family” faced financial, health, legal and other challenges that created stress, anxiety, frustration and anger. They sacrificed phone service, critical medications, cars and food. They stood in long lines to cash checks, apply for social services and shop for food. Seven families were evicted because they didn’t pay their rent or mortgage and ended up in the homeless shelter. A few had brushes with the law for leaving young children alone at home and other reasons.

Claremont School Assistant Principal Ferzeen Shamsi lived with her brother and grandparents in the poverty simulation experience. The children, one of whom had ADHD, didn’t have insurance. The grandmother earned $9.50 an hour and the grandfather received $500 a month in disability benefits.

“This is highly stressful and incredibly sad,” Ms. Shamsi said. “This is the reality for so many of our families.”

The Ossining Staff Development Center sponsored the Community Action Poverty Simulation to promote awareness and increase understanding of the problem, and to initiate change, said Mary Catherine Hillman, a kindergarten teacher who is center director. The center plans to continue the important conversations that were sparked by the simulation for the rest of the school year and beyond.

“Since the simulation took place, participants have been commenting to me about its impact and sharing their unique takeaways,” Ms. Hillman said. “Several educators are working to enhance relationships and find out more about their students and families. Others are researching and putting into place strategies to engage all students.”

In Westchester County, 13 percent of children under 18 live in poverty. Fifty-two percent of Ossining students receive free and reduced-price lunches, which is based on family size and income.

The simulation was divided into four “weeks” of 15 minutes each. Claremont Principal Kate Mathews, who played a 25-year-old man living with a younger woman, bolted to where she needed to go when each week began. She rushed to the bank one week, only to find out that she didn’t have a bank account and would need to go to the “payday advance” store.

“I stood in a long line to get my check cashed, and then I found out that I owe them $100,” said Ms. Mathews, whose name in the simulation was Jack Jolly. “I have no money. I have none.”

Kellie Ishmael, a psychologist at Ossining High School, said it was difficult being the head of a struggling family and having so much to take care of. “I felt myself getting really angry trying to get stuff done,” she said, adding that she yelled or snapped at some people as a result.

One option for families that were struggling financially was to seek assistance from a social services agency. Park School kindergarten teachers Nicole O’Brien and Briana Tharas were social services workers during the simulation.

It was a difficult position to be in, Ms. O’Brien said. When she interacted with people playing single mothers in the simulation, she had to ask a lot of very personal questions. If the week was up and she was in the middle of helping someone, she had to stop immediately and close up the office without finishing.

“You felt like you wanted to help them, but you couldn’t,” she said.