The UW Extension, along with House of Hope, participated in a poverty simulation event Thursday.
According to the United Way, 42% of Brown County families live paycheck-to-paycheck, leaving them economically vulnerable.
The simulator gives participants the experience of a month of poverty in just one hour. The urgency of the event contributes to the effect it has on all who go through the experience.
For Beth Hudek, of House of Hope, she says the experience taught her about the hardship of poverty.
"They have to pay bills and go to work and get their kids in childcare and buy food. They have to do it every week, you know, it's 15 minutes per week, but it kind of shows the realities of how much stress living in poverty is."
Organizers at the UW-Extension put on the simulation numerous times each year across Northeast Wisconsin.
