There's an old saying that "you can't understand someone unless you've walked a mile in their shoes."

United Way in Butler aimed to bring attendees at a Tuesday event closer to that goal, but without the hike.

A board game titled The Poverty Spiral played at the YWCA Butler involved participants receiving cards describing the challenging lifestyles their characters lead.

Players took turns drawing cards and reading aloud a scenario that would negatively affect their already difficult lives as well as two choices they could make regarding the situation. Each player then chose one of the options and revealed why they made that choice.

The card revealed the consequences of each of the choices, and players moved their game pieces further into or out of "the poverty spiral" on the board.

Many scenarios in the game are based on actual situations of people who called 211 for assistance.

One scenario involved a single mother with a pre-existing condition who lost both her jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and whose one relative who could assist her with child care fell ill. Another involved a single mother who is out of money and running low on diapers for her baby.

The players were forced to choose one of the options these people would face and then learn about the consequences. During the course of the game, they learned that, on some occasions, there might be no good available choices for people who live in poverty.

"The participants get a deeper understanding of issues facing people in the region and how the United Way helps them," said Amy Franz, United Way's Butler region director. "We want people to learn empathy."

Butler County is often a generous county, as is displayed any time there's a devastating event. Often, county residents reach out to help.

In recent years across the nation, empathy has been overshadowed by partisan bickering and how divided the nation has become. Challenging situations — such as poverty or the opioid epidemic — sometimes lead people to make quick judgments about others in whose shoes they haven't walked a mile.

Events like the one held by the United Way cannot only educate attendees about important services, but they also help to illuminate that making judgments about people who are struggling — whether it's from poverty, addiction or any number of problems — is easier than many of the decisions made by those being judged.

A little empathy can go a long way. We hope to see more events like this one.

— NCD