THE PERIOD PROJECT

The Period Project Paragould High School

In Arkansas, 2 in 9 females between the ages 12 and 44 live below the federal poverty line. This equals somewhere around 141,000 women in poverty in the state of Arkansas; in the United States, almost 12 million women and girls are living below the poverty line.

For women who participate in government-funded programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Medicaid, no funds are allocated toward the purchase of feminine hygiene products, as they do not allow the use of those funds for products such as pads or tampons despite the products’ classification as medical devices.

Katelyn Reed and Kaydence McGhee — two sophomore EAST students at Paragould High School — have set out to help give young women in their community not only access to necessary hygiene products at school and home, but to help educate them about use, disposal, and the term “period poverty” as well.

The Period Project was born when Katelyn and Kaydence saw a need for period products in their school bathroom.

“One of our big things was, in our bathrooms, how they had it before, you walk in the bathroom and it’s this little box with maybe one product in it on a broken stool that never gets refilled. It was just not practical in any way,” Kaydence said. “And then we saw that those were never getting refilled, those were never getting taken care of, we were like ‘Okay, this is a really big thing that actually needs to be taken care of.’”

Because of The Period Project, small, white, plastic boxes with lids and a pink logo will be installed in bathroom stalls around campus. Inside, students will find pads, tampons, and panty liners in different sizes, all available to them whenever they need them, no questions asked.

Funding for this component of the Project comes from several groups – at Paragould High School and in the community — in small, quarterly installments, making this project a truly collaborative effort for these EAST students and the place they live.

Katelyn designed the logo, and the duo print each logo sticker in-house, using technology found in their EAST classroom.

Katelyn noted that a lack of education and real-talk about periods also served as a project catalyst. The EAST students have not only created the boxes with products for the school bathrooms, but they have also created a PowerPoint presentation for the middle school audience that discusses proper disposal of products after use, potential side effects like Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS), the biology behind a menstrual cycle and how it can affect the body – specifically Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS).

And while increasing access to products is important, Katelyn pointed out that helping to remove the stigma around the way young girls talk about their periods is just as important. The best way to do that is through honest education.

“I have a 10-year-old sister who’s not really educated on all of it,” Katelyn said. “A lot of girls biologically don’t know what it is – and to be honest, we didn’t even know what it is. Correct disposal is really important. Toxic Shock Syndrome is important for when they get older and they start to use tampons.”

With The Period Project, education encompasses more than just the biology and proper disposal of the products themselves. One of the slides on the PowerPoint Katelyn and Kaydence used for their presentation brings to light some rather bleak numbers for these females who are living with period poverty:

• 1 in 4 teenagers in the US has missed school due to a lack of access to feminine hygiene products, putting their education at risk because they simply aren’t able to afford basic hygiene products; and • Missing school because of a period has essentially put female students 145 days behind their male peers.

Their work hasn’t gone unnoticed. Katelyn said The Period Project has been contacted by other local and state-level advocacy groups trying to bring attention to the period poverty issue. And while they haven’t been able to attend meetings yet because of their busy school schedules, it is something they both agreed they look forward to being able to work on at some point.

“We’re trying to change our school and help our peers,” Kaydence said.

Both Katelyn and Kaydence have been involved with EAST programs since the sixth grade. The now-sophomores agreed that they have grown and become more confident thanks to their EAST journeys.

“I’m more direct in my talking. I haven’t been as shy,” Katelyn said. “I’m coming out of my shell talking about our project because I’m so passionate about it. I’m a lot more happy and giddy talking to other people. And then just realizing that I CAN talk in front of a bunch of people even when I’m nervous and that it’s not the end of the world. It builds up your confidence.”

Kaydence agreed that the EAST learning process has had a significant impact on her confidence. “Just being able to talk to groups about a period and not be all ‘Ew, that’s weird’ and then being able to explain what happens to your body, when before I literally would have died before I talked about that in front of anyone.”

The duo had a very clear message for this year’s sixth graders involved in EAST: “Don’t give up on it. It can be so hard when you get stuck on a project, but you just push through it and you WILL find a way to get through it.”