Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks gathers in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks

gathers in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

COLUMBUS – Ann Aber, her husband and three children live on an income of $440 a week. The family struggles to get by; making tough choices when it comes to what can and cannot be spent and having to decide between basic needs, such as paying the rent or putting food on the table.

 

Tough choices are being made in the homes of millions of Ohioans each and every day, but the majority of these choices go unnoticed. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’”

 

To bring light to some of the issues that surround poverty and to help educate participants who may never be faced with the circumstances of poverty, through a partnership between the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks (OASHF), the City of Columbus Community Relations Commission, the City of Columbus Neighborhood Pride Centers, Grange Insurance, Gladden Community House and United Way of Central Ohio, individuals from throughout Ohio gathered on Friday, January 14, 2011 in honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service to participate in the MLK Day Capital City Poverty Simulations. Designed by the Missouri Association for Community Action, Community Action Poverty Simulations are a tool that engage and educate participants about the day to day struggles of life with a shortage of resources and an abundance of stress.

Participants in the MLK Day Capital City Poverty Simulations included employees of Grange Insurance, members of the OASHF National Service initiatives, HarvestCorps and SHARECorps, as well as employees of the City of Columbus.

 

“The focus of SHARECorps and HarvestCorps, our National Service initiatives, has always been about eliminating hunger and poverty.  This year we felt the best way we could honor the memory and work of Dr. King would be to raise awareness of the struggles those in poverty are still facing and call the community to action on the realization that the work is not done,” said Dustin Speakman, a trained Community Action Poverty Simulation Instructor, as well as Director of Community Services at OASHF. “While there is no way to realistically portray the horrors of poverty and hunger, the Community Action Poverty Simulation does an outstanding job of recreating the feelings of helplessness and hopelessness that too often plague our neighbors in need.”

 

During each of the poverty simulations, which were held at three locations throughout Columbus, participants were given the opportunity to live four weeks in the lives of individuals whose reality is life in poverty. Each participant was assigned to the role of either an adult or a child within a family and together faced the daunting task of making choices given their family’s situation over the four week period. Each week was represented by a 15 minute session during the simulation, giving participants the chance to weigh in on the family’s situation and begin to realize the plight faced by families living in poverty. 

 

After the four simulated weeks were over and life as they knew it came back into perspective, all participants regrouped to participate in an hour long debriefing session. It was during this time that the first signs of change could be heard from the participants. Frustration, despair and heartache rang out from the responses given by the participants when asked how they felt about the life they lived in poverty.

 

“I have children of my own and I was always engaged in their day to day lives as they grew up,” said Kathy Meyers, Grants Manager at OASHF. “While participating in the poverty simulation, my assigned individual had children, but I only saw them once a week at most. The situation that some families are faced with really makes the interaction with their children take a back seat to overcoming other circumstances. I knew this was going to be impactful, but never did I think this simulation would open my eyes to the realities that so many Ohioans are facing.”

 

 

To learn more about the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks call 614/221-4336 or visit the worldwide web at www.oashf.org.

 

To learn more about the Missouri Association for Community Action call 573/634-2969 or visit the worldwide web at www.communityaction.org. 

 

To learn more about the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service visit the worldwide web at www.mlkday.gov.

 

About the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks

OASHF is Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger, representing Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks and 3,000 member charities including food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters. In SFY 2010, OASHF and its member foodbanks were able to acquire and distribute over 135 million pounds of food and grocery items.

COLUMBUS – Ann Aber, her husband and three children live on an income of $440 a week. The family struggles to get by; making tough choices when it comes to what can and cannot be spent and having to decide between basic needs, such as paying the rent or putting food on the table.

 

Tough choices are being made in the homes of millions of Ohioans each and every day, but the majority of these choices go unnoticed. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’”

 

To bring light to some of the issues that surround poverty and to help educate participants who may never be faced with the circumstances of poverty, through a partnership between the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks (OASHF), the City of Columbus Community Relations Commission, the City of Columbus Neighborhood Pride Centers, Grange Insurance, Gladden Community House and United Way of Central Ohio, individuals from throughout Ohio gathered on Friday, January 14, 2011 in honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service to participate in the MLK Day Capital City Poverty Simulations. Designed by the Missouri Association for Community Action, Community Action Poverty Simulations are a tool that engage and educate participants about the day to day struggles of life with a shortage of resources and an abundance of stress.

Participants in the MLK Day Capital City Poverty Simulations included employees of Grange Insurance, members of the OASHF National Service initiatives, HarvestCorps and SHARECorps, as well as employees of the City of Columbus.

 

“The focus of SHARECorps and HarvestCorps, our National Service initiatives, has always been about eliminating hunger and poverty. This year we felt the best way we could honor the memory and work of Dr. King would be to raise awareness of the struggles those in poverty are still facing and call the community to action on the realization that the work is not done,” said Dustin Speakman, a trained Community Action Poverty Simulation Instructor, as well as Director of Community Services at OASHF. “While there is no way to realistically portray the horrors of poverty and hunger, the Community Action Poverty Simulation does an outstanding job of recreating the feelings of helplessness and hopelessness that too often plague our neighbors in need.”

 

During each of the poverty simulations, which were held at three locations throughout Columbus, participants were given the opportunity to live four weeks in the lives of individuals whose reality is life in poverty. Each participant was assigned to the role of either an adult or a child within a family and together faced the daunting task of making choices given their family’s situation over the four week period. Each week was represented by a 15 minute session during the simulation, giving participants the chance to weigh in on the family’s situation and begin to realize the plight faced by families living in poverty. 

 

After the four simulated weeks were over and life as they knew it came back into perspective, all participants regrouped to participate in an hour long debriefing session. It was during this time that the first signs of change could be heard from the participants. Frustration, despair and heartache rang out from the responses given by the participants when asked how they felt about the life they lived in poverty.

 

“I have children of my own and I was always engaged in their day to day lives as they grew up,” said Kathy Meyers, Grants Manager at OASHF. “While participating in the poverty simulation, my assigned individual had children, but I only saw them once a week at most. The situation that some families are faced with really makes the interaction with their children take a back seat to overcoming other circumstances. I knew this was going to be impactful, but never did I think this simulation would open my eyes to the realities that so many Ohioans are facing.”

 

 

To learn more about the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks call 614/221-4336 or visit the worldwide web at www.oashf.org.

 

To learn more about the Missouri Association for Community Action call 573/634-2969 or visit the worldwide web at www.communityaction.org. 

 

To learn more about the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service visit the worldwide web at www.mlkday.gov.

 

About the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks

OASHF is Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger, representing Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks and 3,000 member charities including food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters. In SFY 2010, OASHF and its member foodbanks were able to acquire and distribute over 135 million pounds of food and grocery items.