Hbom by Judte Holcomb-Pai*
(Left) "Family"
discusses their situ
ation during pover
ty simulation.
Photo by WSFCS
Carol Davis, participant, talks to Corey Miller about getting a
job during the poverty simulation. In his real job, Miller is
Director of Philanthropy for Crisis Control Ministry.
Poverty simulation exercise opens eyes
BY KIM UNDERWOOD
WINSTON-SALEM/FORSYTH
COUNTY SCHOOLS
Principal Gary Cone
was a 19-year-old single
mother who had dropped
out of high school, and
Principal Judy Jones was
an 85-year-old man who
was homeless.
Principals and manage
ment team members in
Winston-Salem/Forsyth
County Schools became
children and adults in fam
ilies struggling to get by.
It was all part of an
exercise facilitated by
Crisis Control Ministry to
give people a better sense
of the challenges of living
in poverty.
"The basic needs are
difficult to address," said
Jackie Pierson, school sys
tem's program manager for
library media services. "I
think it opens your eyes to
the great needs we have
right here in Winston
Salem."
They were assigned a
character. Some adults
became children for the
exercise, some men
became women and
women became men.
Depending on who they
were, that might mean they
ended up spending long
hours waiting to talk to a
social services worker only
to find that the office was
closing and they were
going to have to come back
the next day and start the
process all over. It might
mean choosing to send a
sick child to school
because they couldn't
afford to stay home and
miss work.
"What opened my eyes
more than just the poverty
was the frustration with the
system," said Principal
Judy Jones of Caleb's
Creek Elementary.
Bill Blackburn, the
director of training for
Crisis Control, said that it
could be easy to think of it
all as a game but that, for
many people, it's not a
game. It's the life they're
living.
"My children come to
school hungry, in some
cases angry," Principal Bea
Veto of Easton Elementary
said. "There is no excuse
that, in our country, we
have hungry children. The
indignity many suffer is
inhumane at best."
Estimates are that
68 JX)0 people in Forsyth
County - 55 BOO of them
living in Winston-Salem -
are living in poverty. That's
18 percent of the county's
population and 23 percent
of the city's population.
Lucy Shaffer-Doherty,
the public relations & mar
keting coordinator' for
Crisis Control, pointed out,
anyone - particularly those
living paycheck to pay
check - could find them
selves in such trying cir
cumstances.
Blackburn said that,
when people talk afterward
about the experiences they
had during a simulation,
they often use such words
as "stressed," "mad,"
"angry," and "hopeless."
People talked about the
need to explore ways in
which the school system
could do more to help peo
ple in such circumstances.
"Maybe we need to
rethink our own bureaucra
cy," said Superintendent
Beverly Emory. "The sys
tem could be more friend
ly."
Tracey Semcer, a
Forsyth County Public
Health employee who was
helping with the simula
tion, said that it's clear that
people in education already
knew a lot about what peo
ple in poverty are dealing
with.
Cone, who is the princi
pal at Paisley IB Magnet
School, walked out of the
Education Building after
ward and said that the
experience left him feeling
both overwhelmed and bet
ter informed.
For one, when people
come into school angry, he
better understands that,
although their anger may
appear to be directed at
him, it might really be a
reflection of the frustration
they're feeling from count
less trying circumstances in
their lives.
"On another level, it
about made me cry," Cone
said.
The exercise also gave
him an understanding of
how people in such circum
stances help each other.
After portraying someone
who had dropped out of
high school, he said, he
now wants to do more to
help those trying to go back
and earn their degree.
Schools that would like
to schedule a simulation for
staff members should get in
touch with Bill Blackburn
at bblackburn@crisiscon
trol.org or call 336-724
7875 extension 1021.
Primaries
from page A1
tion officials prepared for
the election, get ourselves
prepared, get all the polling
locations secured and
ready to go," he said.
By state law, voters
must register to vote 25
days before the election
they want to vote in, which
makes the registration
deadline for the primaries
Feb. 19. Candidate filing is
open until Dec. 21.
Joyner said Forsyth
BOE is on schedule as far
as getting poll workers for
the precincts. Early voting
plans haven't yet been
voted on by the Forsyth
BOE, but it's expected to
be discussed during its next
meeting on Dec. 17. Early
voting plans must be sub
mitted to the State Board of
Elections by Jan. 15.
The N.C. NAACP is
doing a statewide voter
registration drive until Feb.
19.
The N.C. NAACP is
also one of several groups
that is legally challenging
changes in voting laws,
such as ending out-of
precinct voting and shorter
early voting periods, argu
ing that they create a bur
den for voters, especially
minorities. The case was
heard last year in federal
court, but has yet to be
ruled on. A separate part of
that case involving the
state's new voter ID
requirement had a hearing
in October and has a tenta
tive court date of January.
Plaintiffs are seeking an
injunction to stop the ID
requirement from going
into effect for the 2016
election. /
Both political parties
are actively trying to get
people registered locally.
Forsyth Democratic Party
Chair Eric Ellison said that
Democrats are using a
computerized system to
find people who are eligi
ble to vote but aren't regis
tered. He said he's also
trying to sure make every
one knows about the voter
ID requirement.
"It's not just registering
people to vote. There's def
I I 11
Joyner
initely an added compo
nent of education," said
Ellison.
Forsyth County
Republican Party is also
continuously registering
people to vote, with drives
at churches and a move
ment to register high
school seniors who've
turned 18. Party Chair
Mark Baker, said he's also
making sure everyone
knows about voter ID
requirements, which he
supports as a way to protect
against voter fraud, which
he says is a serious issue,
regardless of how rare it is.
He believes voters will
adapt to the new require
ment.
"I think in the long run
it's going to be a good
CAMPAIGN
thing," he said about the
new ID requirement.
While there'll be no
shortage of registration
drives in the coming
months, eligible voters can
easily register on their
own. They can print the
registration form off the
BOE website,
www.forsyth.cc/Elections.
They can also pick up reg
istration forms at libraries
and county offices. Joyner
said many voter registra
tions come from the North
Carolina Department of
Motor Vehicles, which lets
people register to vote
when they renew their dri
ver's license.
The requirements for
registration are: U.S. citi
zenship, being at least 18
years old by the next gener
al election, having resided
in the county at least 30
days by election day. Also,
a person must not be cur
rently serving a felony sen
tence. Those previously
convicted of a felony who
have fully served their sen
tences, including probation
or parole, are eligible with
no special document
required.
Correction
The Chronicle apologizes for some errors made in a story written by Tevin Stinson
and printed in The Chronicle on Thursday, Dec. 3. The article, on page A1, has the head
line "Parents, others question low-performing schools label." The article stated Ivory
Davis as a teacher's assistant at Ashely Elementary School. The correct name of the
teacher's assistant is Davis Ivory and the correct school is Kimberley Park Elementary
School. The Chronicle regrets any misunderstanding that may have resulted from this
error. The Editor
I 1
The Chronicle (USPS 067-910) was established by Ernest
H. Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974 and is published
every Thursday by Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing
Co. Inc., 617 N. Liberty Street, Winston-Salem, N.C.
27101. Periodicals postage paid at Winston-Salem, N.C.
Annual subscription price is $30.72.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
The Chronicle, P.O. Box 1636
Winston-Salem, NC 27102-1636
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