Slippery Rock University students Pamela Larry, left, Lucy Paredes, Bethany Stravato and AmeriCorp member Jacob Grande play a board game Tuesday simulating issues related to cycle of poverty, part of the Poverty Spiral awareness program hosted by the Butler United Way and held at the YWCA. Sebastian Foltz/Butler Eagle

A board game being played by 14 people Tuesday afternoon at the YWCA Butler elicited more learning than laughter, which is exactly what the United Way was going for.

Amy Franz, United Way’s Butler region director, explained that participants in the afternoon exercise split into three groups to play The Poverty Spiral.

Each player receives a card describing the challenging lifestyle they are in.

Players take turns drawing cards and reading aloud a scenario that would negatively affect their already-challenging lives and two choices they could make in the face of the situation.

Each player then chooses one of the two options and discusses why they made that choice.

The card also reveals the consequences of each of the choices and players move their game pieces further into or out of the Poverty Spiral, which is illustrated on the game board.

“The participants get a deeper understanding of issues facing people in the region and how the United Way helps them,” Franz said.

Wendy Koch, director of volunteer engagement at United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, explained to the participants that many of the scenarios in the game are based on actual situations faced by those who call 211 for assistance.

People in need can dial 211 to access services that can help them in a desperate situation. The 211 program is a United Way program.

At one table, a United Way employee, a state employee and two workers from Slippery Rock University were faced with a situation in which a single mother lost both her jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The woman has a pre-existing condition and her doctor advised her to isolate at home, but the one relative who helped her with child care fell ill.

The options were to apply for a job in the stock room at a local grocery store or stay home and make due for the 10 days the family member is quarantined.

All four players chose the second option.

At another table, workers from Butler Health System and Jean B. Purvis Community Health Clinic faced a scenario in which a single mother is out of money and running low on diapers for her baby.

The players options are to use plastic bags and linen to make diapers or sell some jewelry to the local pawn shop in the hopes of getting it back in two weeks.

All five players chose the second option, but learned that when they went back to retrieve the jewelry, a ring owned by their grandmother had been sold.

The option to make diapers out of household items resulted in a significant diaper rash for baby.

Koch said just as in the lives of those in poverty, some scenarios in the game have no helpful option.

Dr. Donald Vigliotti, a United Way board member and pediatrician with UPMC, learned that not everyone has a funding source to fall back on when financial disaster looms.

“When people live paycheck to paycheck, it’s very easy to go over the edge,” Vigliotti said.

Kim Reamer, executive director of the health clinic, was shocked at some of the desperate scenarios on the cards, especially knowing that many came from those dialing 211.

“The reality of it is, a lot of these stories are true,” Reamer said. “It’s very upsetting.”

Linda Thoma, also of the health center, said players who seemed to be out of the spiral and nearing financial stability were surprised how fast they returned to poverty as a result of just a few decisions.

“It’s amazing when you’re stuck with two options and both are bad and you have to decide which would be better,” she said.

Jacob Grande of the Americorps VISTA program recalled a scenario in which the character could buy food for their family or pay a speeding ticket.

“Not every situation is win-win or win-lose,” Grande said. “Sometimes there’s no good choice.”

That was the message Franz and Koch hope the participants took home with them on Tuesday.

“Poverty is more a set of circumstances that gets you into a situation where sometimes there is no good choice,” Franz said. “We want people to learn empathy.”

Kim Reamer, left, and Linda Thoma with the Jean B. Purvis Community Health Center play a board game Tuesday simulating issues related to cycle of poverty with Donald Vigliotti, and Karen Allen, from Butler Health System, part of the Poverty Spiral awareness program hosted by the Butler United Way and held at the YWCA Butler on Cunningham Street. Sebastian Foltz/Butler Eagle