I have now facilitated the Poverty Simulation for more than 5000 people. These are a few of the things I have learned about the process…not the specific insights that people share in the debriefing or in their evaluations:

• What we feel in our guts is more powerful as a change agent than what we are told.
• We may be given great information but until we know we need that information, we will not pay attention or remember.
• We are surprised by how quickly our integrity can be compromised when we have basic needs to meet such as food and shelter.
• The poverty simulation experience stays with people for weeks, months, even years afterward.
• Until we experience some of the frustrations and stresses of poverty…even for just a couple of hours…we do not really know as much as we think we do.
• People are astounded by the profound emotions and insights the poverty simulation creates for them.