Cost of Poverty Experience

The Cost of Poverty Experience (COPE) is a poverty simulation to help us break down our preconceived notions around poverty. In the span of 3 hours, you will live a month in the life of a low-income family. During this interactive event, you’ll experience the frustrations of everyday struggles for people in our community living in poverty or just getting by financially. You might be stepping into the role of:

· An exhausted single mother struggling to put food on the table

· A lonely senior citizen who much choose between rent and medication

· An unemployed father of 4, struggling with addiction.

Daily errands like paying bills or taking the kids to day care become much more complicated when you do not have reliable transportation or need to wait for necessary resources. As you navigate the simulation, you will see the world with their eyes. A majority of prior COPE participants share that this simulation increased their empathy for those struggling in poverty.

Join us on Sunday, January 29, from 4-7pm in the Parish Hall for this transformative experience. Registration is free and open to the public.

Example video from a prior COPE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7SJ6T5ytQo