STATESBORO — Georgia Southern is hosting a poverty simulation on Saturday, Sept. 21 to shed light on those living in poverty in Bulloch County.

The event will be co-hosted with the GSU Net Impact Club, Business Innovation Group, School of Human Ecology, and the Department of Public and Nonprofit Studies. The idea to host the event came from the Net Impact advisor Dominique Halaby.

This is not the first poverty simulation held on campus, and Net Impact is hoping that this will be an ongoing tradition here at Georgia Southern.

“It is important for students to attend this event because it gives them a different perspective on how the other side lives,” Destiny Raymes, Net Impact President, said. “I know many of us come from a background burdened with poverty so we kind of already have a glimpse into this world but through this simulation we can experience this first hand.”

Students who attend can expect to learn more about poverty and try to experience how people who live under these conditions on a daily basis.

Professor Dina Walker-Devose, Ph.D., said it is important for students to attend the simulation to get a handle on the bigger picture when it comes to economic realities.

“Students are often shielded from the realities of adult life,” Walker-Devose said. “Economic instability is one of those realities.”

“More than 30% of Bulloch County’s population lives at or below the poverty level. Most are considered the ‘working poor’, receiving a minimum or low wage,” Rahymes said. “The poverty simulation is designed to help participants better understand the barriers faced by a low-income family trying to survive from month to month.”

Tatiana Joseph-Saunders, The George-Anne News Reporter, gaeditor@georgiasouthern.edu