Business, community and human service agency leaders have been invited to participate in an event intended to help them better understand the experiences of living in poverty.

United Way of Mesa County has scheduled the event for June 9 using its community action poverty simulation kit.

“This program helps people understand the complexities and frustrations of living in poverty day to day,” said Keira Auld, community impact manager with United Way of Mesa County. “With a greater awareness of its impact, we can more effectively address the poverty issues in our community.”

Using the simulation kit, participants will role play the lives of low-income families. Some are recipients of federal assistance, some are disabled and others are senior citizens on Social Security. During the course of four, 15-minute “weeks,” they will explore how to provide basic necessities and shelter for themselves and their families while on limited budgets.

Participants will interact with resource stations throughout the experience, including bill collectors, grocers, job interviewers, pawnbrokers, police officers and representatives from human service agencies. Local volunteers, some of who have past or present experience in poverty or homelessness, will staff the stations.

The simulation is intended to provide participants a glimpse into the structural barriers — as well as some of the personal and emotional repercussions — people in poverty face.

United Way of Mesa County has partnered with a variety of local organizations to assist in planning and staging the effort. The event is part of the United Way of Mesa County United to Solve Homelessness program, a community based education and outreach program to help raise awareness, inspire solutions and solve the issue of homelessness in Mesa County.

For more information about the United Way of Mesa County United to Solve Homelessness program, call (970) 243-5364 or send an email to impact@uwmesacounty.org.