REGIER: Poverty simulation changes perspective

Beads of sweat poured off the elderly woman'’s face, leaving muddy trails as they slid down. She wore threadbare, grungy clothes. Crouching beneath a busy interstate bridge, she attempted to avoid the hot summer sun.

Typically, I would view a person such as this as pathetic, helpless and a bit scary. But because of a 48-hour poverty simulation I took part in recently, I could relate to her. I have tasted the bitter reality of poverty.

Unfortunately, poverty is a growing epidemic in the United States.

People from all walks of life and all races are affected. Old, bearded men are not the only people affected by homelessness. Women make up 43 percent of the homeless population. Families with children make up 33 percent of the homeless. Veterans are 40 percent of the homeless.

But perhaps the saddest statistic is the number of homeless children. On any given night, 1.35 million children will be homeless. They make up 39 percent of the total homeless population. That is unacceptable.

This summer my youth group took part in Mission Waco, a program that allows kids to experience homelessness in a safe environment.

We began our 48 hours of poverty by deciding what items we would keep with us. Water bottles, pillows and sleeping bags all counted as an item. We were limited to four items per person. This was devastating news to me. I am a chronic overpacker.

To me, there is nothing more upsetting than arriving unprepared. Deciding what items to take with me for the next two days was an excruciating decision. I finally selected two sleeping bags (one for myself and the other for a friend), a water bottle and my own shoes as my items.

Luckily, we were able to share items with other people in our group. Along with several other girls in my youth group, I was able to supply items for my basic needs.

Along with the items, we were given $40 in Monopoly money. This money could be used on a $6 meal from Mission Waco, a $20 room for overnight, or a $5 set of clothes and shoes. After the money was gone, we would have to find our own food and shelter.

We also were taken to a thrift store to buy clothing we would wear for the next couple days. As I rifled through the stacks of already picked-over clothes, I began to understand how difficult it was to find even one T-shirt that fit well and looked decent. I knew I would be downtown the next couple of days and didn’t want to look unkempt, but after a few minutes of unproductive searching, I resorted to a pair of tattered sports shorts and a T-shirt.

That night, to conserve money, I slept outside along with at least a hundred fellow homeless people. Falling asleep was almost impossible. The yard light was too bright, the people too loud and the ground too hard. I think I finally fell asleep at 2 or 3 o’clock.

The next morning, I awoke more tired, sore and grumpy than I had been the night before. The dew caused my sleeping bag to stick to me, and I was already sweating. Needless to say, I was a little concerned about what the rest of the day had in store.

Throughout the next couple of days, I was forced out of my comfort zone numerous times. I dug through trash cans in search of aluminum cans. I talked to several homeless people. I worked for complete strangers to earn money for lunch. I did all this with great embarrassment.

At one point, my group and I were trying to find aluminum cans in a trash can in front of a store. Customers and clerks inside were giving us dirty looks. I wished I could be inside, dressed in a nice pair of jeans instead of my worn out clothes. I was tired of being judged.

Then I realized usually I was the one inside who was judging. I simply assumed the homeless were lazy and inferior to me. I never stopped to consider their circumstances. I had no right to judge another human.

I also realized the difficulty homeless people face every day. They have all the odds against them. They do not have a shower or a closet full of clean clothes. They have little chance to clean themselves up. Most bosses will not look past their dirty appearance. They cannot be expected to get back on their feet when they cannot even score a job.

After just two days on the streets, I had become extremely disheveled. My hair was one big tangle, my feet had a thick film of dirt covering them and I had been marinating in my sweat for way too long. I had become a person who, a week earlier, I would have tried desperately to avoid.

Now that the two days were over, I was going back to home. I was going back to a soft bed with pillows, a fully stocked refrigerator and air conditioning. I took a shower and put on freshly washed clothes. I was transformed, no longer the grungy homeless person others looked down upon.

But all the people I had seen on the streets do not have that chance. They are left to fend for themselves. They are left to try to make something of themselves, even though everything is going against them. They will continue their sad existence, until someone cares enough to give them a chance.

Erin Regier is a sophomore at Newton High School.