Ever wonder how it feels to be part of that population of people who skate by on little money -- barely enough to pay bills, feed the family, afford health care?

The Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches conducts an "interactive poverty simulation," which offers participants a glimpse into the lives of the working poor. Its next simulation is set for Thursday at Council of Churches offices.

"We're trying to help people step into the shoes of a family struggling with their finances and talk about the implications of that," said Gennae Falconer, a director at the Council of Churches.

Falconer describes the simulations as board game-like, with up to 50 "players." They're divided into small groups, each representing a family of five (two parents and children ages 2, 4 and 11) living in the Twin Cities on $3,000 a month. The challenge is to find housing, day care, transportation and health insurance, plus pay for household expenses, food, clothing and entertainment.

The family isn't considered poor by government standards, but "they're one major illness or one month away from losing everything at any time," Falconer said. "If the refrigerator goes and something else happens ... that's a critical thing. One of the overlying beliefs people have about poverty is there's a level of choice involved. That they [poor] have the power to change it."

It's more complex than that, Falconer said. Take day care. If a child gets sick, a parent has to take time off work, and many lower-paying jobs don't offer paid vacation or sick time.

The simulations -- typically conducted for students, churches and businesses -- often leave participants stressed.

"A lot of what we hear is, 'I didn't realize it was this hard,'" Falconer said. "We talk about responses like ... working toward legislation advocating on behalf of people struggling with health care, housing. It's volunteering in your community with agencies that deal with some of these issues. These are ways for people to get involved to help the poor."

Rose French 612-673-4352