STAUNTON, VA (Rocktown Now) — The Social Work Department and Club at Mary Baldwin University will host the third annual poverty simulation.

The event will be held on October 26, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the Student Activities Center (SAC).

Drawing on both members of the University and the surrounding community to volunteer and participate, it hopes to spread a more empathetic understanding of what it is like to live in poverty. Participants will be randomly assigned into model families with unique life stories and must manage their time to get everything done, from going to work to buying groceries to paying court fines. Along the way, they will struggle with mock arrests, financial emergencies, and generalized systemic issues, including untrained workers (portrayed by the volunteers).

This program started on campus after Anna Leavitt, Director of CAPSAW, invited Mary Baldwin students in Social Work Practice III to participate in the simulation at Blue Ridge Community College. Social Work Club officers then hosted the first event in the spring of 2025.

The goal is to foster dialogue about systemic issues and to integrate this with the curriculum for students, particularly those pursuing their Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree. Blue Ridge Community College students are also invited, particularly those getting their associate’s degree in human services.

According to Mary Baldwin University officials, poverty is a pervasive issue in the local area, and those living through it struggle with both its tangible effects and the stigma related to it. This will reportedly help others in the community understand more about the barriers present, that they are not alone, and that no one should be ashamed to reach out if ever needed.