"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 local context of staggering inequality makes the exercise even more important, said Scott Myers-Lipton, a professor emeritus of sociology at San Jose State University, who wasn't involved in last week's exercise. Myers-Lipton, who did poverty simulations with his students for decades, points to analyses that show that nearly one in three households in Silicon Valley can't afford food shelter and utilities without nonprofit or government assistance."
A role-playing poverty simulation in a Sunnyvale food bank placed business leaders and public workers into scenarios of begging for work, bargaining for groceries, seeking housing, and bailing loved ones out of jail. The exercise lasted only a few hours but produced strong empathy and clearer insight into survival strategies used by people with limited resources. The simulation traces its origins to a 1970s welfare advocacy group and has been adapted over decades for local contexts. Analyses show nearly one in three Silicon Valley households cannot afford food, shelter, and utilities without assistance, while a very small number of people hold a large share of regional wealth.
Read at The Mercury News
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