Simulation offers a glimpse of the misery of poverty
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Lisa Sandoval spent a little anxious time in jail on Friday while participating in a Walworth County poverty simulation. Sandoval was playing a divorced mother of two and was jailed after not being able to pay a speeding ticket.
ELKHORN — I am Pedro Peters.
I am 1. I live in southern Wisconsin with my family.
Most of the time.
Last month, I spent a few nights with foster families when my parents got arrested.
Twice.
Daddy is the assistant manager at a hotel. It’s a very good job. Mommy works part time there as a maid.
My sister is 6. She pinches me, but nobody knows about that. She’s mad because her daddy doesn’t live with us.
Mommy gets mad when she has to wait in line at the bank, the grocery store, the pawnshop and the cash store.
I wait in my car seat on the floor.
A lot.
“Pedro” was one of dozens of characters in Friday morning’s poverty simulation at the Walworth County Health and Human Services Department in Elkhorn.
Family service advocates and volunteers played the roles of service providers such as caseworkers, landlords, a grocery store owner and a cash store teller.
A Walworth County sheriff’s deputy was busy arresting people, tracking down wandering “children” and responding to burglary and theft reports.
One man played the role of a rather successful criminal. He sold drugs, stole property, robbed a bank and tried to rob one man.
Others played the role of families living in poverty.
The simulation lasted one hour and was divided into 15-minute “weeks.” The families tried for one “month” to keep their homes, keep the power on, buy food and work through the unexpected but typical things that might happen to families during a normal week.
For example, Pedro, played by Gazette reporter Ann Marie Ames, got the flu one week and later had to be rushed to the hospital after a kitchen accident.
His sister, played by Nancy Zikuda, a housing specialist with the Walworth County Housing Authority, missed school because she was dropped off late one day.
His mother, Perla Perez, was played by Lisa Sandoval with Walworth County Early Head Start in Delavan.
Pedro’s parents were late one night picking him up from day care. The baby spent a couple days in foster care after his parents were jailed on suspicion of child neglect.
Other families dealt with job losses, utility cut-off notifications, evictions and a breakout of lice at the day care.
The one person who moved easily around the room without the burden of children or debts was Gateway Technical College student Ryan Rodriguez, who played the role of an unnamed criminal.
He stole TVs and stereos from families, sold drugs to teens, bought a gun at the pawnshop, robbed a bank and tried to rob a man.
In addition to spending time in jail on suspicion of child neglect, Perez spent “hours” in jail when she couldn’t pay a speeding ticket. The “criminal” got a friend to post bail in minutes.
“You guys have to stay in jail. The criminal goes free because he has money,” deputy Alex Torres of the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office said to Perez.
Torres played the dual role of parole officer and correctional officer.
He observed how easily the criminal moved around and how many choices he had.
“They (criminals) more than anybody know how to skirt the system,” Torres said.
A month in the life of the Peters-Perez family
Things were looking good for Pablo Peters, 27, and his girlfriend, Perla Perez, 23, two characters in Friday’s Walworth County poverty simulation.
Early in the month, Peters got promoted from security guard to assistant manager of the local hotel.
Along with a raise, the promotion included a month of free bus rides, which made things easier for the one-car family.
Perez got a part-time job at the same hotel. That should have helped cover the shortage of child support from her ex-husband.
Perez has a 6-year-old daughter, Patricia, who sneakily pinched her 1-year-old half-brother, Pedro.
But Peters’ raise didn’t go very far after Perez got pulled over for speeding, Pedro had to go to the emergency room, and the family paid off a loan from the pawnshop.
On top of all that, Peters and Perez got arrested for child neglect after failing to pick up little Pedro from day care.
It was the unexpected that kept the family from getting ahead, said Jeff Rosendahl, a member of the Elkhorn Fund Board of Directors.
Rosendahl played the role of Pablo Peters.
“My promotion to assistant hotel manager, which was probably the best job in the room, should have made up the shortage we faced going into the month,” Rosendahl said.
“But the speeding ticket and the child neglect arrests took up the extra we had to cover the shortfall.”
Rosendahl said he and his girlfriend, Perez, played by Lisa Sandoval with Early Head Start, might have come out farther ahead if they had a few minutes to plan between each 15-minute “week.”
But that’s probably the way it goes for many families who live paycheck to paycheck, Rosendahl said.
“If I just had a day to sit and plan, but we don’t have that luxury.”
In their words
After Friday’s Walworth County poverty simulation, participants spent time debriefing about their experiences:
- “I had to hand out almost all the nutrition warnings I had. Buying food just wasn’t a priority. Families got swamped in by all the other issues they had to deal with.”
—Cristina Parentes, UW-Extension nutrition educator, in the role of a Spanish-speaking grocery store owner.
- “Everybody wanted everything immediately, but they never came prepared, or they waited too long to apply for benefits.”
—Tobie Watts, Peoples Bank employee and Walworth County Crisis worker, in the role of caseworker.
- “I saw grandparents caring for grandchildren and not knowing where the kids’ parents were. That meant they had to go to court. One woman had to decide whether to apply for benefits or take her daughter to court.”
—Lisa Krolow with Catholic Charities, in the role of caseworker
- “People overlook the small obstacles that law enforcement throws up in their lives. One ticket might cost $250. People don’t realize how much that impacts a normal person’s life. As officers, we don’t like doing that.”
—Walworth County Sheriff’s Office deputy Alex Torres
- “Some parents kept their kids away from me. Others didn’t care who I talked to.”
—Ryan Rodriguez, criminal justice student, playing the role of a criminal.
- “I observed a lot of families that relied heavily on their children to make decisions and help with daily activities.”
—Sarah Boss, executive director of the Walworth County Housing Authority
and director of the simulation
Apr 19, 2010 at 5:59 p.m.
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How do the poor oppress themselves? Maybe a very few but the majority are living in the same America we are and are facing the same economic hardships as even rich people are. Think about what you post before you post it, you don't know who could be reading it and someone could take it to heart. Not knowing all the negative bloggers on here could confuse them and make them do harm to themselves or others. So, PLEASE STOP.
Apr 19, 2010 at 3:29 p.m.
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Don't speed if you don't have money for a ticket.
Where does it say if you are poor you must sell drugs?
booch- well said.
They can run to ER because they will never have to pay the bill.
ozzman- don't forget the if one pack a day per person is $150 a month. Pretty sure no program pays for that.
Apr 18, 2010 at 8:31 p.m.
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The poor oppress themselves.
Apr 18, 2010 at 3:43 p.m.
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I have a hard time with people who are supposedly poor wearing designer clothing, talking on Blackberry cell phones and dining out all the time and then crying to the government that they need their housing, utilities, health care,grocery bills and education paid for by the working people who cant afford all that because we have jobs and don't qualify for any special treatment but do not make enough to enjoy the finer things in life. Our system in Wisconsin has made it more beneficial to work part time for minimum wage and have all living expenses paid for by the government than to work full time for $10.00 an hour and have to pay for all of it on your own!
Apr 18, 2010 at 2:05 p.m.
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Whythink, I agree with this statement "I am thankful that there are people willing to consider, think about and attempt to empathize with those living in poverty. We need more, especially for those children." Bobb1951, I do not agree with your statement (that is a first) like whythink said, stupid people come in all income brackets and all backgrounds. I agree this "play acting" was kind of dumb, but some points are very believable! I have been dirt poor, poor, slightly poor and now, I think, middle class. Guess what, I was happier being slightley poor!!! Not all poor/low income people are scum bags as you posters assume. And one last thing, as for the "welfare state" we DO NOT have that state anymore in Wisconsin. People do not get hefty checks monthly to live, foodstamps and medicaid, YES but not enough financial help to make it and not even a monthly check anymore, Good ole Tommy Thomson, took care of that when he was in office here. And I know all you negative people will say "Oh well they shouldn't have so many kids"--DON'T go there, that is a whole other topic! Back to good ole Thomson, now after these 4-5 years you are seeing the fallout from cutting everyone off and making it almost impossible to get financial help. Sorry so long winded, but racism and bigotry really get me as does "the holier than thou" attitude!!!!
Apr 18, 2010 at 11:57 a.m.
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My parents grew up in very poor houses, and one was a sibling in foster care for a while. None of my grandparents were anything but poor. They all held to higher standards and followed the rules, went to church etc etc. Hard work and no holding out your hand! 'Poor' nowdays means having a blackberry cell phone, car, and several electronics with a refrigerator full of food; with no church, illegal statuses, criminal activity etc etc.
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We don't need these work shops to make us think about how hard it is for some people. We don't need to hear it, many years ago people just dealt with it like real Americans.
Apr 18, 2010 at 8:19 a.m.
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It sounds like it could have been a great experience for the people who participated. I agree, that it is difficult to understand from this perspective.
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As far as stupid people not reproducing...let's just remember stupid and poor do not go together. Anyone want OJ or M. Jackson as a father? Plenty of cash but being left at daycare is the least of their concerns.
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IMO, the point of this exercise was that anyone can be late to pick up a child but who is more than likely to then be investigated for neglect. Seriously, if I was 45 minutes late tomorrow to pick up my children I doubt anyone would call anybody to have me investigated. I am guessing it would take multiple times x mulitple times for me to be investigated but if I was poor...would things be different? And if I was latino, the racist idiots that really shouldn't be reproducing (Dan) would have me investigate multiple times...despite the FACT that my ancestors were here long, LONG before theirs (more than likely since many Mexicans were in the now US WAY before Columbus).
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Bottom line for me, I am thankful that there are people willing to consider, think about and attempt to empathize with those living in poverty. We need more, especially for those children, of that.
Apr 18, 2010 at 7:49 a.m.
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This was a total waste of time because all of the people who pretended to be in poverty after it was complete could go back to their normal "non-poverty" life. The people who live it everyday can't do the same.
Apr 18, 2010 at 12:15 a.m.
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What makes you think I care?...Problems? I don't wanna hear about your damn problems. Everybody got problems! My mama got problems. She just lost her leg. My cousin Pookie just lost a testicle. My dog just threw up somebody's finger. That's a problem!
- Talladega Nights
Apr 17, 2010 at 11:43 p.m.
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Don't be fooled people. And don't make excuses. This thing was designed to deflect from true causality. If you don't agree then why are most people posting on here in agreement?
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After reading this article, I am not sure what the real purpose was. So much fluff. Simply do what you are supposed to do and stop making excuses while calling the cause something other than what it really is. How about a role-playing work shop which points people in the direction of responsibility and accountability. Oh, I'm so horrible!
Apr 17, 2010 at 9:59 p.m.
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danman- are we really suggesting that everyone with a Latino name is illegal? really? Little closed minded there, dan....
Apr 17, 2010 at 8:23 p.m.
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“You guys have to stay in jail. The criminal goes free because he has money,”
“They (criminals) more than anybody know how to skirt the system,”
Sucks to be poor, criminal has money, system needs to be "skirted"
Got it!,
I have been doing it WRONG this whole time!
Apr 17, 2010 at 8:08 p.m.
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"I believe the struggle for financial freedom is unfair,
I believe the only ones who disagree are millionaires"
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Savage Garden - Affirmation
Apr 17, 2010 at 6:38 p.m.
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Poverty is a sad situation. But I have to ask you Pedro, are your parents legal in this country? If not, poverty is the same in your homeland. If your family is not here legally, while it is a drag, I have no sympathy.
Apr 17, 2010 at 6:16 p.m.
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it is horrible to be poor. i've been there.
so....
i joined the navy. got an education thanks to my military service -- and began a long journey of pulling myself up by my own bootstraps.
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i don't feel we are teaching poor people to become self-sufficient these days (and for the past several decades).
the welfare state has created generations of people on the public dole.
and, i fear, has created a voting block of people who feel welfare is good enough -- as long as those who pass the laws will enable the poor to remain so.
Apr 17, 2010 at 6 p.m.
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I agree this was poorly reported. The point of it (we held a similar conference in Janesville- Called "bridges out of poverty" in 2006ish) is for people that are in direct contact with families in crisis to understand how easily it is to forget an appointment or to have other issues when everyday living is so complex. I participated in the event in '06, and, it was helpful. There was additional information about the thought process that each "social class" knows. For example, the very wealthy have knowledge about how to keep the servants happy and from stealing, the poorer knew where the pawn shops were, the middle class knew extra-curricular activities for their children (examples). However, the article really doesn't give any point of the activity- at all........
Apr 17, 2010 at 5:48 p.m.
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The thing that bugs me about this simulation is that is sets you up for failure and tries to teach the message "IT'S HORRIBLE TO BE POOR!" Poverty and low income are not the same thing. There are MANY people living with low income that don't get into trouble, pay their bills by budgeting and raise children into valuable citizens. There are tens of thousands on college students (and yes, young student parents) that live on a shoestring budget and have good lives.
Just because you are poor does not mean you have to live in poverty of morals, education, and a good life.
Apr 17, 2010 at 5:11 p.m.
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First off, Im with you Bob. I need a liscense to drive, hunt, and fish because these activities potentially affect the living conditions and environment of people around me. When are we going to start demanding some sort of liscense to reproduce? Also, what the heck was the point of this ridculous excercise, who funded this thing, and how was this meant to benefit others? What was the point of this story? Sorry something just blew up outside I have to go get back to reality now. Thank you J'ville gazette. You're awesome.
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