County social services staff reinforces empathy through poverty simulation training

POUGHKEEPSIE — On Wednesday, Sept. 27, staff members from the Dutchess County Department of Community and Family Services (DCFS), took part in a role-reversal training exercise at the MJ Nesheiwat Convention Center. 

During the training, they took on the roles of their clients and experienced what it is like to live at the poverty level. 

“Understanding the experiences of our clients and the challenges they have as they navigate our systems is essential for providing effective support and assistance,” DCFS Commissioner Sabrina Jaar Marzouka explained. 

During the exercise, DCFS’ staff had to deal with not having enough money to pay bills, buy food, pay rent, get child care and get transportation to work. They had to figure out what to do if someone became sick, where to go for care and how to pay for medical care. Volunteers took on the roles of landlords, bank employees, health care workers, social service workers and utility company staff. 

Participant and social worker Tracy Tissiera said of the experience: “It’s frustrating. It feels like you can’t win at all. This training is like a reflection of what clients go through every time they wake up.” 

Felice Sarmiento, another participant, said: “Quite often, unless you’ve walked a day in the shoes of community members, you don’t understand what their lives are like, what barriers they face. One single day in their life is a challenge.” She added: “We lose sight of that. It is important to go through a simulation of this sort to be able to have a better perspective.”  

According to DCFS, in 2022, it serviced one in 10 Dutchess County residents, for a total of “30,000 unduplicated individuals across all programs, including temporary assistance, child and adult protective services, youth services, foster care, Medicaid, and child support, among others.”

Marzouka felt this was an important training session. “Residents who seek assistance from us do so during challenging times in their lives, when they need the most compassion from the staff serving them,” she said. She added that the “training reinforced the difficulties our clients often face, allowing our workers to see things from the client’s perspective and incorporate this experience when helping residents.”

DCFS does many trainings throughout the year with one large-scale training, such as the empathy training, once a year.