Walk a Month Poverty Simulation

2014 Pro Bono Week

Walk a Month in My Shoes:

An Experience for Pro Bono Attorneys

and Others Who Work with Low-Income Clients

All attorneys - from both the pro bono and legal services communities - who currently or may in the future work with low-income clients are invited to participate in a "Walk a Month in My Shoes Poverty Simulation" on Wednesday, November 12, from 9:00 am - 12:30 pm. This interactive training program, an extension of our national pro bono week programs, is designed to help the DC legal community develop clearer insight into the hardships faced by low-income clients by living their lives during a simulated month.

The Poverty Simulation is appropriate for attorneys interested in pro bono or public interest work who currently practice in law firms, public interest organizations, government agencies, or in-house legal departments, or for law students.

The Poverty Simulation will be led by Vytas Vergeer, Administrative Law Judge at the Office of Administrative Hearings. Mr. Vergeer has over 20 years of experience with access to justice issues in DC, including as the former Legal Director at Bread for the City. He will draw on his experience to discuss poverty in DC and provide an overview of the simulation. Mr. Vergeer also will highlight the connection between the life circumstances of low-income clients and our pro bono and legal services delivery system. 

After the simulation, participants will discuss what it was like to try to make ends meet and to access services in a system that sometimes stigmatizes the poor. We will explore how being poor impacts the types of services that are provided to clients and how we deliver legal services to this population. Participants will share what they learned about why it costs more to be poor, why low-income clients do not always follow up on instructions and next steps we give them, and the concerns that might lead someone to make poor decisions (or decisions their lawyers might not condone).

Please see the schedule of events listed below for additional information about this exciting program. 

Walk a Month Poverty Simulation Timed Agenda

8:45 to 9:00 – Registration and Check-In

9:00 to 9:45 –Introduction and Overview of Simulation

Mr. Vergeer will provide background on poverty in DC and an overview of the upcoming simulation.  Mr. Vergeer will begin to explain the connection between the life circumstances of low-income clients and how poverty impacts our pro bono and legal aid delivery system.

9:45 to 11:15 – Simulation

This role play simulates a one-month time frame, with each week consuming a 15-20 minute period.  Participants are divided into "families," ranging in size from 1 to 5 persons.  Each group is assigned a different life scenario, and volunteers live the life of that family for one month, trying to work and access benefits, buy food, and maintain housing.

 11:15 to 11:30 – Break

 11:30 to 12:30 Debrief

Participants will discuss what it was like to try and access services in a system that stigmatizes the poor, while trying to make ends meet. Participants will then discuss how being poor impacts the pro bono services they are providing to clients and how we deliver legal services to this population.  Participants will discuss what they learned about why it costs more to be poor, why low-income clients do not always follow up on instructions and next steps we give them, the concerns that might lead someone to make poor decisions (or decisions their lawyers might not condone).