An Illinois city canceled its “poverty simulation event” that was set to take place at a country club and offer wealthy residents the opportunity to better understand what it is like to be poor following significant backlash online.
The city of Highland Park, Illinois, where the median household income was $153,226.00 in 2021, announced the free two-and-a-half-hour experience on Facebook, and told residents that the event would “increase residents’ understanding and awareness of what it is like to live in poverty in Lake County.”
“The City of Highland Park is partnering with the Alliance for Human Services, Family Focus, Moraine Township, and the Highland Park Community Foundation to host a poverty simulation event,” the city announced. “Participants in this immersive experience will begin to experience what a ‘month’ in poverty feels like. Participants are put into situations in which they do not have enough resources and are forced to make difficult choices that can negatively impact them and their families.”
The city hoped that as an outcome, wealthy residents would be able to “create a more resilient health, human, and education sector” in the local community.
The Poverty Simulation’s website explains that it is “not a game,” but an “interactive immersion experience” that “sensitizes community participants to the realities of poverty.”
Days after the announcement was posted online, news outlets and social media users lambasted the city and the organizations hosting the event, calling it “tone deaf” and “virtue signaling at its finest.”
Shortly after, the city posted an update on Facebook, letting users know that the event would be canceled following the backlash. The city offered no explanation or apology in its announcement.
Facebook users commented on the city’s update, celebrating the event’s cancellation.
“Good choice,” one user wrote. “Glad to hear it,” another remarked.
