Wealthy Illinois town of Highland Park must cancel ‘poverty simulation’ at country club to show residents what it’s like to live poor after outrage
- Highland Park canceled ‘poverty simulation’ after social media outrage
- The event was scheduled to take place at Highland Park Country Club
An affluent Chicago suburb has been forced to cancel a “poverty simulation” event after outrage over it being hosted at a country club.
The City of Highland Park, Illinois partnered with The Alliance for Human Services and several other community organizations to host the event scheduled for Saturday at the Highland Park Country Club.
The aim was to increase residents’ understanding of what it is like to live in poverty – with the original description of the event stating: ‘Participants are put into situations where they lack sufficient resources and are forced to make difficult choices that could negatively impact them and their families.’
But social media users quickly labeled the plan “incredible” and “grotesque,” prompting organizers to cancel the simulation.
“Due to an overwhelming onslaught of negative public misinformation, the poverty simulation scheduled for September 9 is canceled,” the Alliance for Human Services told DailyMail.com in a statement.
The Highland Park Country Club is a public facility shared between the senior center and the parks district
The Poverty Simulation experience is owned and licensed by the Missouri Community Action Network.
Highland Park Country club was selected for the site because it is the only city-owned facility that could accommodate the expected number of visitors.
“While we believe these types of events spark community conversations that are critical to combating poverty, the extensive response on social media has overshadowed the purpose of the event,” the statement added.
Many users rejected the decision to host a poverty simulation experience at a country club in a wealthy community.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income in Highland Park in 2021 was $153,226 and Zillow estimates the median home value is $643,514.
This compared to the census’ reported poverty rate of 3.2 percent.
The median household income for the state of Illinois is $72,563 and has a poverty rate of 12.1 percent.
Social media users were outraged by the event’s country club location
One Facebook user wrote: ‘This is absolutely unbelievable and grotesque!’
“Who plays 9 after we pretend to be poor?” another wrote.
On And all in the comfortable confines of a country club.”
However, Highland Park Country Club is a “country club” in name only.
Communications Manager for Highland Park City Manager Amanda Bennett told DailyMail.com that the Highland Park Country Club is a public facility.
“Half belongs to the city, which is home to the Highland Park Senior Center and is available for private rental, although this is not the primary use; the other half belongs to the Park District and houses the Highland Park Recreation Center,” Bennett said.