Social Determinants of Health

SPENT simulation

For this assignment, participate in the online simulation about surviving poverty and homelessness.It is called SPENT:http://playspent.org/

Overview of Game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7T5x6nOlWQ

Your goal is to "play this game" with two different approaches. We use the word "play" with the knowledge that for many people this isn't play; it's reality. When you lose a game, you can set up and play again; when you run out of life resources, you can't just reset.

The first time play as you would with decisions as you make them now. If a question involves a child or other family member that you don't have now, assume that you do.

How many days did you make? If you made it to the end of the month, how much did you have left over?

Next play again, trying to make decisions to get to the end of the month with money left over.

Were you able to make it through the month? If not, how far did you get?

What sacrifices or cuts did you have to make? How did you feel about making these cuts?

Now, consider the whole exercise....

What was the most difficult decision you had to make in this simulation? Why?

Did you have power over your decisions?

What did you learn from this simulation?