Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS)

Speaker: Dr. Cathleen Deckers, Nursing

This learning tool has been created as a way to help people understand the realities of poverty.  During the simulation, participants will role-play the lives of low-income families over the course of four 15-minute weeks. Although play money is used, CAPS is not a game.  The simulation enables participants to look at poverty from a variety of angles and then to recognize and discuss the potential for change within their local communities.  The simulation was designed to sensitize those who frequently deal with low-income families, as well as to create a broader awareness of the realities of poverty among policymakers, community leaders and others.  

Check out these YouTube videos to see how the simulation works: