Role players deal with poverty

Iris Isscason and her significant other, Isaaiha Isma, are a couple from diverse backgrounds sharing a mobile home who find it challenging to make ends meet on $634 a month but "we're determined to make it work," they say.

An unemployed high school dropout of 19, Iris has a 1-year old toddler named Ian but says she wants to return to school. Isaaiha, 25. who has his GED diploma, works in the cafeteria of a hospital but has his wages garnished to pay child support from a previous relationship.

Even though it is role playing, this scenario is not a game but re-enacts the typical low-income life that 32.9 millions Americans struggle with daily, said Brian Stephens, Western Arizona Council of Governments (WACOG) unit supervisor.

The purpose of the Yuma Community Action Poverty Simulation held Thursday at the Yuma Civic Center was to have role players maintain the necessities of their home, pay the rent and utilities, and make sure there's food in the home.

"You'll walk a mile in the shoes of those you represent," Stephens told his 50 role players. "Be realistic as possible. Keep your home secure and ensure your child's needs are cared for. But a child who hasn't eaten all day will cry, and sometimes parents can get desperate."

During 15-minute sessions that represented a week of the lives they role play, Iris and Isaaiha must navigate the routine of the indigent in a maze of bureaucracies most everyone sees but is daunting for those lacking the economic wherewithal, Stephens noted.

Some whose services they must negotiate are Yuma Business Inc. (employer), Yuma Super Center (groceries), Yuma Building Blocks (child care), and Yuma Gas & Electric.

Teaming up with WACOG, a nonprofit dedicated to serving vulnerable populations in Yuma, La Paz and Mohave counties, was the city of Yuma.
Their mission had four goals, said Greg Stopka, management intern for the city.

The point is to raise awareness of poverty in the community, understand the challenges those in poverty face, sensitize the feelings of the role players taking part in the simulation and motivate role players to take action to fight poverty in the future, Stopka explained.

At the end of week one, despite their best efforts, life has erupted with a roadblock for Iris and Isaaiha. Their mobile home was broken into and their refrigerator, microwave and $100 in cash have been stolen.

Iris must return downtown to submit her job application, and Isaaiha has returned to work in the hospital. But before she leaves for the day, Iris files a police report with Officer Johnson.

"Please get those criminals because we need our refrigerator back," Iris told Officer Johnson. "I don't know how we'll eat. Probably have to rely on the neighbors. But first we got to pay the mortgage on the trailer, yet those utilities will have to wait."

In his day job, "Iris" is Leo Mendez, deputy director of Yuma County Juvenile Justice Center. Mendez said the scenario is similar to cases he faces at the justice center.

"It's also a similar setting where there's budget constraints," he noted. "This scenario is very practical and is something that does exist in Yuma County."

Likewise, "Isaaiha" is Kay Stevens by day. Stevens, 18, is a senior at Cibola High School and works as a records clerk for the Yuma Police Department. Stevens said she is well acquainted with poverty since she grew up surrounded by it in California.

WACOG'S Stephens noted those in poverty don't have access to the policymakers who can improve their lives, but the simulation performed can turn some of those decision-makers into advocates to improve the lives of the indigent.

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William Roller can be reached at
wroller@yumasun.com or 539-6858