“Poor people are the hardest working people in America.” This is what Representative Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) told the crowd at a poverty simulation for members of Congress and their senior staff on July 15, at the Capitol Visitor Center. Lutheran Services in America (LSA) joined Catholic Charities USA, Entergy, and other collaborators in the Future Without Poverty coalition to put on this event that received bipartisan support and was attended by nearly one dozen members of the House.
I had the amazing opportunity to attend as a volunteer representing LSA. I had never experienced a poverty simulation, as a participant or as a volunteer. And while I did listen in on a conference call training session for volunteers and knew that I would play the role of a caseworker at the Department of Social Services, I really had no idea what to expect.
After multiple House members addressed the crowd and stressed the importance of trying to understand the difficulties that low-income families face, the simulation began. And I quickly learned that I could not help as much I would have liked. Multiple individuals came to me with needs that I did not have the resources to meet or the time to address.
My frustration culminated in the fourth simulated week when Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) came to my “office” desperately looking for help with paying for his utilities. I looked at his file and told him, “I wish I could help, but I just can’t.” The congressman responded by questioning my sympathy. Did I really wish I could help?
I did. I think most of us do, especially people who are working to serve those in poverty. I know my brother who works as a social worker in Colorado cares. I know my parents who have worked in education for decades and served young people living in poverty care. I know the friends I worked with serving orphans and vulnerable children at Family of Hope Services in Nambia care. But from knowing them and seeing their work, I also know that it is not just hard to live in poverty, but it is hard it is to assist those living in poverty without the proper resources.
The poverty simulation reminded me of this reality. Many people around the world care about those living in poverty and have dedicated their lives and careers to helping the impoverished. But they don’t always have the resources to help those they care about. This lack of resources in the human services sector is what has inspired me to consider a career in fundraising and development.
Rep. Kildee may have been right about poor people being the hardest working folks in the country. But I have a feeling that those trying to help people living in poverty might just be a close second. And if I do end up working in development, I hope that I can make their work just a little easier.
-Caleb R.
—The opinions expressed in this post are mine and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Lutheran Services in America.
