歪歪漫画

BEMIDJI 鈥� Life in poverty is frequently synonymous with challenges, as families and individuals work to make rent, afford groceries and navigate community services.

But for those who haven鈥檛 lived through it, it can be difficult to understand just how difficult surviving on a low income can be.

Increasing that understanding and promoting empathy served as an inspiration for the Bemidji United Way鈥檚 recent Poverty Simulation, which was held on Wednesday, Nov. 8, at Bemidji State University鈥檚 Beaux Arts Ballroom.

A joint effort between the United Way of Bemidji Area and the Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce, the simulation invited community members to step into the shoes of someone living in poverty. They became responsible for managing limited budgets, buying groceries, paying rent, finding transportation and everything else necessary to scrape by.

Courtesy / Jillian Johnson

鈥淵ou have to choose between 鈥楧o I get my car fixed? Or do I feed myself and my family?鈥欌�� said Kev Jackson, who works for Paul Bunyan Broadcasting and participated in the simulation. 鈥淗aving to make those tough decisions isn鈥檛 on a lot of people鈥檚 radar.鈥�

Throughout the event, participants were given limited resources and time to complete their tasks, and at any point, they could be given a luck-of-the-draw card that could saddle them with an unexpected medical bill or another additional expense.

Several of the participants shared how difficult it was to balance all of these expenses on such a low income.

鈥淣o matter how much your rent is, when you don鈥檛 have any money it鈥檚 a lot to come up with,鈥� explained Aaron Kaiser, who works at American National Bank. 鈥淭hen to add on groceries, utilities and student loans on top of (rent) made it even more difficult.鈥�

The simulation also required participants to find transportation. While some had vehicles, others had to rely on bus systems to get where they needed to go.

鈥淭he sheer volume of places you have to go, people you have to meet, forms you have to fill out (was overwhelming),鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淎nd you didn鈥檛 know how you were going to make it happen without losing your home or your heat.鈥�

Even accessing services that were meant to help became a challenge, with limited hours, difficult-to-navigate systems and wait times.

鈥淭iming (was difficult), time for getting to work, getting kids to school, getting to the bank, the wait times,鈥� shared Drew Hildenbrand, Bemidji Middle 歪歪漫画鈥檚 principal. 鈥淲e鈥檇 fill out these forms and wait, and hear back 鈥榊ou qualify for this, but you have to wait a month.鈥� Well, I don鈥檛 have a month, I need to pay my rent.鈥�

Courtesy / Jillian Johnson

After three hours, the simulation was over, but its impact and the small taste of the stress induced by poverty stuck with the participants.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 look at a situation (of someone living in poverty) and say 鈥楾hey鈥檙e just not trying hard enough,鈥� because that鈥檚 just not the case at all,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think this experience will fade anytime soon. It was gut-wrenching.鈥�

The fact that participants were able to lay down the mantle of poverty after the simulation, a privilege those living through it aren鈥檛 granted, was also not lost on them.

鈥淭he really unfortunate part is we鈥檙e role-playing. There鈥檚 so many families living through this day to day just trying to survive," Hildenbrand said.

U.S. census information from 2022 estimated that 24.8% of Bemidji residents live in poverty, over 2.5 times the state average of 9.6%. The current poverty guidelines place the demarcation at two-person households making less than $19,720 annually and four-person households making less than $30,000.

With nearly a quarter of Bemidji鈥檚 community members living through this reality, the United Way and the Chamber wanted to raise awareness of the barriers that exist and how the more fortunate in the community can support their neighbors.

鈥淚 think we all know there鈥檚 poverty in our community, but I think there鈥檚 maybe a lot of us who just don鈥檛 really know the depth of it,鈥� Jackson shared. 鈥淚 hope as a community we can think about ways we can make this process easier.鈥�

Courtesy / Jillian Johnson

Whether that鈥檚 through increasing the availability of information, improving access to services and transportation, or just meeting people where they are, Kaiser, Jackson and Hildenbrand all agreed that the community can take lessons from this simulation and apply them.

鈥淲e鈥檙e doing a wonderful job as a community with providing those services, but how can we make them convenient and navigable with a reasonable timeframe?鈥� Hildenbrand asked. 鈥淲e need to ask ourselves 鈥榃hat barriers are we putting up that we don鈥檛 mean to?'鈥�

Alongside addressing barriers, Abby Randall, executive director of the Bemidji Chamber, added how she hoped that going through the simulation encouraged participants to approach their employees with a newfound understanding.

鈥淵ou have to meet people where they鈥檙e at. You need to be empathetic as an employer and support removing those barriers,鈥� she said.

Courtesy / Jillian Johnson

On the community scale, Randall encouraged education about the barriers poverty creates and the stress that it puts individuals and families through. She also shared her hope that this simulation will spark genuine conversation and efforts to create better support systems.

鈥淚t鈥檚 our job as a community to become educated,鈥� Randall left off. 鈥淚鈥檓 really hopeful that this will send us in a direction where we can keep these conversations going and we can work to make sure everyone has the support they need.鈥�