The Meet ALICE Experience is designed to help participants begin to understand what it might be like to live in a typical low-income family trying to survive from month to month. It is a simulation, not a game! The objective is to sensitize participants to the realities faced by low-income people.
Here’s how the Experience works:
- Participants assume the role of a low-income family member living on a limited budget and interact with volunteers playing the roles of bill collectors, school administrators, service providers, and more.
- A simulation creates a community of people living in poverty for one “month” comprised of four 15-minute weeks. During this hour, each family unit must connect with community resources (i.e. schools, utility companies, social service workers, etc.) to meet their basic needs on a limited income.
- The experience lasts about two hours. Volunteers should plan on being there for three hours. It includes an introduction, the actual simulation exercise, and a debriefing period in which participants and actors share their feelings and experiences and learn about ways they can get involved in reducing poverty in our community.
What will volunteers do?
During a simulation, we use volunteers to role play as community agencies such as childcare care centers, social services, utilities, services, sheriff and more. We are seeking volunteers to take on one of these essential roles at our upcoming simulation Tuesday, June 16, 2026, with an arrival time for volunteers at 2:00PM.
