For my VR experience I chose the simulation involving homelessness.
Becoming Homeless: A Human Experience – From Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, spend days in the life of someone who can no longer afford a home.
The reason I chose this option was not because I was researching into the matter of homelessness but because I wanted to put myself in an experience where my mental health would be challenged. Since my topic is mental health, I wanted to try to simulate an experience that would most likely affect your mental health in a real-life scenario in order to better grasp the concept and become more attached to the matter.
It was my very first time in a VR lab so I was not sure what to expect. The process of setting the program up was easy enough, thanks to the help of another student, and I found myself diving deep into the experience pretty fast.
The story itself was very realistic and it put you in plenty of uncomfortable situations that you would not find yourself in on a daily basis. It was very eye-opening realizing what many people in homelessness have to deal with in their lives.
Although the matter of homelessness does not directly correlate with my research, I found some very interesting researching that talks about the relationship between homelessness and mental illness.
Many of the people that suffer from homelessness also suffer from mental illness which affects not only their mental health but their physical health as well, sinking them deeper into their pit.
In conclusion, the VR experience was very interesting and I would very much like to participate in something like it again.