TO HAVE NOTHING: A Poverty Simulation

Twenty rolls of film are in the trunk, and I am itching to get at them. I want to see!

I just got back into town from spending one-and-a-half days at a Christian ministry’s poverty simulation program for about 50 high school and college-aged kids in Waco, TX. In a nutshell, these white kids (all but one) come to the homeless shelter and live the life of poverty and homelessness for the weekend. They are allowed a small allowance of play money, and they must decide between spending it on shelter, clothing, or food. Some of their additional activities include begging for lunch, collecting cans, befriending homeless people, and participating in the church’s weekly Sunday service held under an interstate overpass.

(2/29/00) POVERTY SIMULATION AT MISSION WACO -- In a cafe, Michael Canonico, left, and Nacy Canonico watch as Russell Blake walks by on his way to the church service Sunday morning.

I chanced upon this story last week when I came down to Waco (college town about 100 miles south of Dallas) to photograph the executive director of the organization. The story idea came up when we talked about what all the organization does. What these kids go through during this weekend and how that will or will not change their attitude toward the less fortunate would make a good feature story for our paper, I told him. I wanted to sell the idea to our features department.

(2/29/00) POVERTY SIMULATION AT MISSION WACO -- Brian Sims listens at Mission Waco's church service under an I-35 overpass in Waco, TX Sunday morning.

I am not good with stories, I admit. I always have tons of crazy ideas running in my head about interesting photography essays that I never have enough time to pursue. But usually these ideas are of very little social significance. I subconsciously discourage myself from thinking about social story ideas because it seems there is very little originality left. Virtually all stories have been done before. I realize that the same story done in Philadelphia can still be done in Texas and provide a whole different flavor and interest to our readers. When brainstorming, I often get frustrated because I want to be original yet I am not smart enough to think of original ideas.

Most of my social projects have been assigned to me. Over the last couple of years, these have included: a halfway house in Camden, NJ; a look at racial diversity in Oak Park, IL; the booming black middle class in Prince George’s County, MD; the lives of six Dallas families in retracing their Texas heritage for our millennium special section; a wheelchair-bound ballet dancer; baseball in the Dominican Republic.

Stories I proposed include an intimate profile of Dat Nguyen, the first Vietnamese-American NFL player, and a quirky look at the Mr. Olympia bodybuilding contest (a Dallas-area resident is the defending champion). Well, that seems to be it. Another reason why I am story-idea deficient is that I enjoy the variety of my daily assignments too much. These assignments are usually stuff that I never think of or have not known about. If I were just to do what I think of, I would be limited by my imagination and my knowledge. But the ideas that come through the assignment desk are refreshingly different than what I already know. (does this make sense?)

(2/29/00) POVERTY SIMULATION -- Stephanie Setliff, 18, fishes a can out of a dumpster as her group tries to collect 100 aluminum cans in the afternoon.

But when a story falls into my lap like this poverty simulation, I go with it. I proposed this poverty simulation story last week to the features and religion departments. Features found a writer from our sister paper in College Station, TX, and we had the go.

The shoot itself was physically challenging but technically not difficult. Besides doing a lot of walking and not a lot of eating and sleeping in the cold, everyone was welcoming and friendly. The organization was happy for the exposure, and the participants had nothing to fear from us. This I expected. It’s very nice to shoot in an environment where people like me.

(2/29/00) POVERTY SIMULATION -- Eddie Wells looks back over to the table where steak dinners were being served to two people representing the population of the United States. Wells belonged to the Latin American section. At the dinner, the group was divided according to the world's population distribution and served accordingly. Most didn't get enough to eat.

Like I said, the film’s in the trunk so I can’t say what the final feelings are. The evaluation is on hold until then. Isn’t that funny? Everything went well, I had a good time but I still can’t say that it was a good trip until I see the pictures. If the pictures are bad, then the whole experience is tainted. Where’s the separation between work and life? Is this what people mean by not having balance?

(2/29/00) POVERTY SIMULATION AT MISSION WACO -- Dawn Phillips huddle in the cold in at the back of the shelter where they spend the night.

The next day: Film’s in and I’m golden. The images are fine for this story. There are probably not any classics – timeless images that can stand on their own apart from the context of the story. But I feel much better now that I know I didn’t completely blow it.

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