This week, we caught up with our Public Health program as they host Community Action Poverty Simulations for 250 UNI students heading out to student-teach this spring. Created by the missourican to help people understand the realities of poverty, the simulation allows students to role-play the lives of low-income families. Some are TANF recipients, some are seeking employment, and some are senior citizens on Social Security. They have the stressful task of providing basic necessities and shelter on a limited budget during the course of four 15-minute "weeks." Throughout this time they interact with simulated human service agencies, grocers, pawnbrokers, bill collectors, job interviewers, police officers and others (role-played by Public Health majors). Afterwards, they debrief their experiences and apply what they learned to their future classrooms. 💜 #UNITeacherEd #UNIPublicHealth 💜 coe_uni