Members of Howard Payne University's Department of Social Work recently took part in Mission Waco's Poverty Simulation. It was HPU's 15th year participating. The group spent 43 hours facing the challenges and uncertainty of poverty, and nearly constant rain made the experience harder, the university said.
According to Mission Waco's website, the nonprofit works to empower the poor and marginalized through Christian-based programs, to involve middle-class people more closely with the poor, and to address social injustice. The HPU group was led by Shantel Oplotnik, assistant professor of social work and director of the social work program. Students Ivan Flores, Faye Qaisar and Yari Villagomez, all juniors, also took part. The students learned about widespread poverty and worshipped and prayed with the Mission Waco team.
Oplotnik said the uncertainty of the simulation is intentional. "When someone is experiencing poverty or homelessness, they often don't know where they will sleep, where their next meal will come from or what the next day will look like," she said. Oplotnik first took part in the simulation in 2019 as an HPU student. Qaisar said the weekend helped her see how much she has to be grateful for.