Mission Waco offers a "Poverty Simulation" each month--a unique weekend-long program to help church and college groups "understand the issues of poverty" while getting "a small glimpse of being poor for a weekend." For a while, it was mandatory for all Mission Waco staff to participate in a "PovSim", as they're so affectionately called in these parts, so I became homeless for one weekend back in 2001. After becoming a youth minister, I all but forced my high schoolers to partake in the 40 hours of poverty. As a result, over the past 5 years or so, I've figured that I've participated in or helped with 12-15 PovSims.

All those hours haven't dulled my fondness for the Poverty Simulation weekends. Throughout the entire weekend, participants are continually pushed, challenged, and stretched as they try to redefine their boundaries and stereotypes of poverty. The leaders at Mission Waco get a steady stream of letters each year from past PovSim'ers who have made changes in their lives as a result of the temporary homelessness they endured.

Granted, the Poverty Simulation has it's flaws. There is a sense of safety the whole weekend for the participants--a safety that the homeless are unfamiliar with. In addition, during the weekend, everyone is well aware that by Sunday afternoon they'll be resting and eating comfortably in their huge, carpeted, air-conditioned homes while those who are really homeless will be battling the elements and hunger for many more days and weeks.

As a middle-class man, these conflicting feelings and judgements of the Poverty Simulation keep me honest. For I know that the Poverty Simulation doesn't truly capture poverty for the participants. Then again, Mission Waco never makes such a claim. They pledge to simply provide a "glimpse". So as I let these thoughts battle in my head, I look to force myself to extend these "glimpses" into longer ventures, so that hopefully, eventually my life will be saturated.

On a parallel note, I came across an article in the Miami Herald a couple of days ago...which actually got me thinking more about the Poverty Simulation, and thus is responsible for this whole post I suppose. It seems a local businessman (among others) in Buenos Aires, Argentina takes tourists on a "reality tour" through the poorest of neighborhoods. For the cost, they get a local guide, meal from a street vendor, captivating stories, and plenty of photo opportunities. While nothing like the Poverty Simulation I'm sure, I imagine these tourists walk away with a whole new appreciation for those who struggle, and hopefully a disdain for the discriminatory affluence that has infected middle America.

Read the article, it's quite interesting. Go on a PovSim. Allow a glimpse, eh?