Walk a mile in their shoes

Photo: Thinkstock.com

The UBC Okanagan Student Union and United Way of the Central and South Okanagan/Similkameen will stage a "poverty simulation" next month, to let people walk in the shoes of the poor.

The simulation will be hosted in the UNC Building at UBC Okanagan on March 1, from 9 a.m. to noon.

Organizers aim to replicate a month in the life of a family living in poverty in just three hours.

Those in the simulation will experience different encounters, obstacles and challenges, while volunteers act as business owners, police officers, agency workers and government employees.

Participants will be given a role within the simulated family, and will need to perform day-to-day tasks, like sending children to school, finding work, paying bills and buying groceries.

To register as a participant or to volunteer at the event, head to the website here.