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MACON, MO -- The North East Community Action Corporation hosted a poverty simulation in Macon Friday afternoon.

The simulation was held at the Macon High School and students assumed the roles of low-income families.

The goal of the poverty simulation was to show students just how hard it is for many families facing financial, medical and other hardships.

Chuck Stockton, the Macon R-I Schools superintendent, said he hopes the simulation helps students develop empathy so they might be prompted to help their neighbors get out of the situation.

"What we hope to get out of this, by the very term simulation, they'll be given roles of different individuals, different cultures and different ethnicities and what their life is like in disadvantaged type circumstances," said Stockton.

Many students have already seen or felt the effects of poverty in their homes or communities.

Stockton tells us they have close to 40 percent of students living in poverty. He says he hopes students will get somewhat of an understanding about what some of their classmates face daily.

Both Stockton and NECAC want to hammer home what it's like to live in someone else's shoes, even if just for a few minutes.

Many families are struggling to make ends met.

Organizers hope the simulation brought awareness to the problem and just how serious it really is.