Poverty isn’t just a lack of money. It’s a nesting doll of difficulties, each of which creates its own ripple of potential crises.

Can’t afford the rent and get evicted? No one will rent you another apartment. Don’t have a stable place to live, and you have school-age children? They will bounce from school to school and fall behind. Not to mention that you’re not getting mail — including mail from the social services agencies that provide necessary services.

Last month, Sunnyvale Community Services held one of its Poverty Simulation workshops. Community members got an experience of what being poor looks like close-up.

“It changes who you are,” one participant explained, referring to the fact that they kept quiet about being overpaid — something that they would normally bring to their boss’ attention.

Paula Crespin, a healthcare professional, role-played as a 19-year-old single mother with no job, little education, living with her boyfriend in a mobile home, and relying on EBT (food stamps) and social services.

“We had just paid our rent as we were basically meeting the person that was coming to evict us,” she said.

Despite having income and benefits, the system’s rigidity left her family constantly on the edge. “One paycheck away from being homeless” wasn’t a slogan for her — it was reality.

“It was a constant struggle to survive. The next week, when we went (to the housing office), they were closed for a holiday. So, by the time we finally were able to get in and take care of things, we were on a list to be evicted,” she said.

She described the feeling of helplessness that comes from being at the mercy of an impersonal system. “Fill out this form… wait… I’ll get to you when I get to you.” The process drove her to despair, especially when services closed for holidays without warning, pushing her closer to eviction.

“I now have a profound appreciation for the struggle to just survive and just have bare minimum things,” she added.

Randy Collins — now a Sunnyvale Community Services volunteer — spoke of his real-life experience of becoming homeless after being laid off from Lockheed Martin after 18 years.

Although he continued to work whatever jobs he could get, rising rents and uncertain income led to homelessness. During that time, he slept in a hoarder’s bedbug-infested apartment, on a floor, for ten years. His asthma spun out of control — vermin exacerbate respiratory diseases — and a misunderstanding of disability rules kept him from applying for disability.

Randy was rescued by Downtown Streets Team — which shut down last year for lack of money.

“They visited me in the hospital when I was sick,” he said. “They allowed me to come and volunteer for them and told me, ‘Yes, you can go to work,’ and explained disability rules.”

Randy applied for SSDI on his own at Sunnyvale Library, gathering medical records from Valley Medical and O’Connor Hospital, and was approved within 10 months. Streets Team helped him find a job and subsidized housing.

What’s the one thing that could make the biggest difference for people like Randy? “More points of entry.”

But it doesn’t seem likely that will happen with the current administration’s policies.

“Programs that were already inadequate are now cut,” said SCS Executive Director Marie Bernard. “They are very systematically taking away resources. It could be you; it could be me who need this help tomorrow.”

SCS is one of seven Emergency Assistance Network (EAN) agencies that, together, provide a social services safety net across Santa Clara County, assisting residents in Sunnyvale and Alviso, as well as homeless people. Visit svcommunityservices.org, call (408) 738-4321, email info@svcommunityservices.org.

Carolyn Schuk can be reached at carolyn@santaclaraweekly.com.