Hard-knock life: Poverty simulation gives Plano students, parents taste of tough times

It's 7:45 p.m. Monday at the Plano West Senior High School cafeteria, but as far as Plano ISD parents Rhonda Snyder and April Maestas are concerned, it's the end of a tough week with little money, little food and a hungry child.

As two of about 50 participants in a Plano ISD Council of PTA-hosted poverty simulation, Snyder and Maestas are getting a small taste of the frustration and stress of living in poverty.

For the purposes of the simulation, Snyder is "Gayle Garofab," a 19-year-old single mother. Maestas plays her 25-year-old boyfriend "Glen Guten," who is fresh out of jail and still having to pay child support for a child from a prior relationship.

"Glen" just used the last of the family's transportation tickets to go to the bank in an effort to cash a check, but it was closed. Now, both are stuck at home with $38 to their name and without food to feed their children.

While planning their next move, an event coordinator dropped an "Unexpected Event" card on their table, explaining "Glen" now has a flat tire. The family must now spend $10 to get it repaired, and "Glen" will have to report late to his hourly job, costing him precious paid work hours.

"There's nothing relaxing or rejuvenating about the weekend," Snyder said, finding little argument from her partner.

"We're nervous," Maestas said. "All we're thinking about is what we're going to do on Monday."

The simulation is the second of its kind for the Council of PTAs, which set up the event with the help of the Region 10 Education Service Center.

Each of the participants at Monday's event -- mostly PTA members and high school students -- were given a limited amount of money to start with, a random number of "transportation tickets" used to move from place to place, a selection of possessions which can be pawned for extra cash and a sheet briefly explaining their character and their unique hardships.

The three-hour session, during which participants have to find time to go to different aid agencies, shop for groceries, take care of their children and go to work if they have a job, is intended to simulate a month of poverty.

Cathy Gray, a representative from Region 10 overseeing the simulation, said the program is intended to promote empathy and understanding regarding poverty, especially in districts with changing income demographics.

While resources such as charities and government aid programs are available to participants, they will not always be there for help, and transportation can be an issue -- just like real life, Gray said.

"Even when the agency's there, oftentimes there's a waiting period," she said. "Oftentimes there's paperwork."

Midway through the session, the stress was starting to pile up on Sandra Colston, who was cast as "Ann Aber," the 39-year-old wife of an unemployed computer programmer with three children and a full-time job.

"There's not enough time in the day and not enough resources," she said. "It's really frustrating. I can see where if you had to live this every day you'd want to just give up."

While Plano has a reputation of being wealthy and suburban, it is not immune to the menace of poverty. Nearly 28 percent of Plano ISD students receive free or reduced lunches, and the numbers of actual students living in poverty are probably much higher, said Annette Maule, president of the Plano ISD Council of PTAs.

"Everyone always talks about funding cuts to education, or they talk about assessment testing," Maule said. "Well, the big elephant in the room is poverty. It really affects a child's learning ability when they're going to school hungry, and then they have all weekend when their hungry as well."

Plano East student Katie Le played "Ellen Epperman," a 15-year-old who was expelled for dealing drugs to help support her family. Since she is too young to get a job, she spends most of her time sitting at home with nothing to do.

"It sucks," she said of the situation. "...My mom's running around doing everything, my brother can't do his homework ... [It's hard] sitting here doing nothing, knowing I can't get a job."

The council hopes bringing the program to Plano will open the eyes of both parents and students to the fact that "all kinds of people live in all kinds of situations," and that there are people contributing to the community regardless of their financial situation, Maule said.

"It's a couple hours out of your life and you feel the stress of it and the hopelessness of it going through this program," she said. "... I want someone walking out of it and saying 'How can we take these situations and make them more positive for these families?"

The Council of PTAs will hold another poverty simulation at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 12 at the Plano ISD Administration Building. Registration is required. To RSVP, email community@planopta.org.

For information on joining the Plano ISD Council of PTAs, visit www.planopta.org.

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