Poverty simulation offers eye-opening' experience for Silicon Valley leaders

"In the echoing expanse of a Sunnyvale food bank, Silicon Valley leaders scrambled across a warehouse floor, making a dull cacophony as they ran to different tables where they begged for work, bargained for groceries, sought housing, and bailed their loved ones out of jail. The desperate group of business leaders and public workers hadn't suddenly fallen on hard times, rather each was playing a role as part of a poverty simulation"

"The poverty simulation has a decades-long history, going back to a religious group in St. Louis that advocated for those in poverty, Reform Organization of Welfare. In the 70s, the group created a simulation to show participants the experience of living on welfare. Over the years, the exercise was adapted by various groups to suit changing contexts and geographies, including those at Sunnyvale Community Services and their partners."

Silicon Valley leaders participated in a few-hour poverty simulation at a Sunnyvale food bank, role-playing tasks such as begging for work, bargaining for groceries, seeking housing, and bailing loved ones out of jail. Participants described the exercise as eye-opening and a powerful tool for understanding the invisible struggles faced by those with limited means in a wealthy region. The simulation traces back to a 1970s effort by the Reform Organization of Welfare and has been adapted over decades to local contexts. Local organizers and longtime practitioners emphasize the exercise's importance given the region's pronounced economic inequality.

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