Empathy in Action: A Practitioner's Reflections on a Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS)

• In Event: 223 - Regular Session. Applied Social Research/Evaluation

Abstract

In our current economic climate, there are a significant number of families in the United States that are experiencing exhaustive economic distress. In an effort to increase empathy for those in poverty, human service agencies have been utilizing the Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS) with their staff and community leaders. During the CAPS experience, participants role-play the daily lives of low-income families, including single parents who are responsible for care of their children, senior citizens who are trying to remain self-sufficient on Social Security, and two parent households who are just trying to make ends meet. On behalf of the Centre County Council for Human Services and Central Pennsylvania Community Action, a retrospective pre-post survey and focus group were implemented to measure CAPS participant changes in attitudes and knowledge regarding poverty. Approximately half of the CAPS participants, thirty-three in total, were sampled. Findings suggest a significant change in the attitudes regarding welfare patrons, welfare satisfaction, and poverty-related knowledge.

Author

• Elizabeth Ann Eckley, Indiana University-Pennsylvania