CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A traveling museum is giving people a different look at poverty through interactive exhibits and scenarios drawn from the lives of real community members.
The "People of Hope" traveling museum challenges visitors to step into someone else's reality. The interactive experience has traveled across the country through Catholic Charities USA.
Taylor Logan said visitors can engage with the exhibits in multiple ways.
"Anyone who enters is able to interact with the different screens and they can either hear about a story of hope or they can place themselves in the shoes of someone who might be struggling in the community and hear about how they got into this situation, why these experiences aren't black and white."
The museum tackles misconceptions about poverty head-on, forcing visitors to make impossible choices between basic needs.
"How am I going to make that choice between getting my child that wheelchair that they need or paying rent and having shelter for my family? Really tough situations and tough decisions to make and in a lot of these cases, there really is no right answer," Logan said.
For visitor Mariela Trujillo, the stories created connection and perspective.
"I think that connects us to other people and to also realize that we all have all kinds of struggles, right? But we're not alone and I think it creates some empathy as well, just to hear other people's stories and see what we can do to help," Trujillo said.
Students from local academies experienced the museum, taking notes for future papers about poverty awareness.
Logan said early exposure to these stories matters.
"I think it's super important for our youth to learn early on. I think it prevents a lot of judgment when it comes to poverty and things that are out of our control."
The museum is open Tuesday, September 15 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at St. John Paul the Second Academy off Saratoga Blvd.
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