Poverty Simulations for Human Services Professionals: Impacts and Implications

We examined the program outcomes of a poverty simulation offered by Nebraska Extension. Using qualitative and quantitative data sets collected from 582 participants, we investigated their emotional, attitudinal, and learning outcomes. The overall findings suggest that poverty simulations can enable participants to empathize with people living in poverty, reduce their misconceptions about people living in poverty and about governmental support, and improve their awareness of financial hardship, economic difficulties, government programs, and community resources. We provide recommendations for poverty simulation implementation, such as more rigorous use of orientation, group discussion, and community resources