The simulation hopes to foster empathy and inspire action for those living in poverty in Indianapolis. Photo courtesy of Circles Indy. Graphic by Lily O’Connor.
KATE NORROD | STAFF REPORTER | knorrod@butler.edu
Nearly 36 million people across the United States lived in poverty in 2024. On Feb. 19, students will get the opportunity to test-drive life below the poverty line in a simulation sponsored by Circles Indy, a local community-driven program aiming to reduce poverty throughout the city. The event’s goal is to raise awareness about the everyday struggles of poverty and sponsor empathy across the student body.
Volunteers will be set up around the Reilly Room at different tables representing community organizations, health care providers and social service organizations. Students will be assigned roles of various community members who are experiencing poverty. Then, they will simulate life in their role as they move throughout the room and navigate given scenarios. Participants may handle challenges such as trouble accessing food regularly, paying rent and finding healthcare.
Hanako Gavia, the associate director of the Office of Student Experience and Engagement, serves as one of the event hosts for the poverty simulation.
Gavia explained that Circles Indy is part of a national group that aims to eradicate poverty by growing communities around those who are struggling, pairing them with resources and “a buddy system.” Working to stabilize families and individuals in poverty is an important part of their mission.
“[The simulation] is an interactive way for students to understand more about the complexities and systematic nature of poverty,” Gavia said.
Heidi Hancher-Rauch, a professor of health sciences, has participated in similar poverty simulations as both a participant and a volunteer.
“What I’ve seen is that it just really helps build up that empathy of having a better understanding of trials that other people face in our communities,” Hancher-Rauch said.
Hancher-Rauch currently offers extra credit to her public health and health sciences students for attending due to the highly valuable nature of the experience for future healthcare professionals. She emphasized the importance of understanding the context behind their patients’ actions and understanding that prescribing medication or cutting out habits is not as simple as healthcare professionals often think.
“[It’s important] especially for our students who want to be healthcare providers or want to work in these community settings, to understand some of the challenges [their patients] face and the baggage that they bring with them into any healthcare situation or conversation with a healthcare provider,” Hancher-Rauch said.
Sophomore health sciences major Sydney Baker is a student of Hancher-Rauch’s. She corroborated the importance of understanding what patients go through. Baker mentioned that many of her health sciences classes have involved learning about issues like socioeconomic disparities, food deserts and access to equitable healthcare.
“Increasing our experience and exposure to these [struggles] can help us put ourselves in someone else’s shoes and make us a better provider by knowing what these patients are experiencing,” Baker said.
Circles Indy has hosted the poverty simulations for a decade, both at Butler and at other universities, such as Indiana University Bloomington. The events have been popular among current and future healthcare workers in particular. The Morton-Finney Diversity Scholars program recently experienced the poverty simulation.
The simulation was developed at the national level, not by Circles Indy themselves. Gavia emphasized that it has evolved with the input of those who have actually lived in poverty.
“[That feedback] can speak to those real-life experiences of how those systems actually affected them, or even to just speak more into the systems is how we make it more realistic,” Gavia said.
Gavia stated that a major goal of the simulation is for students to take away a deeper understanding of the world and the systems that have built our society. Additionally, students will be equipped with tools to support people in those situations. Reflection before and after the actual simulation will also help students to gain a better grasp of what life in poverty is really like.
Hancher-Rauch encouraged students who want to better understand the inequalities built into society to attend the simulation.
“Going through activities like this to help [students] better understand the whole person and how they fit into a community is a big part of improving the types of providers they can be in the future,” Hancher-Rauch said.
