Team PASSION (Poverty Awareness – Simulating Struggles in Our Neighborhoods)

More than 46 million Americans live in poverty, and a third are living in low-income.  Every day under-resourced families face frightening insecurity characterized by unemployment or under employment, food and shelter insecurity, and a stressful day-to-day existence.  Team PASSION first focused its efforts on understanding the impact of limited resources on day-to-day living through their participation in the Missouri Community Action Partnership Poverty Simulation, a live event in which more than 100 participants were challenged to make it through a month while navigating unexpected life situations with few resources.  Those experiences were used to inform discussions with South Carolina Legislators, and additional simulations were scheduled to broaden awareness.  Team PASSION understands that change happens when people come together, but this can only begin to occur when the causes and outcomes of poverty are better understood.  Therefore, they worked to identify resources for use in the workplace, and in civic, social, faith-based, and educational contexts that stimulate authentic conversations and substantive actions.