Addressing Period Poverty, By Sophia Manzur

FEATURED COLUMNIST

Addressing Period Poverty

By Sophia Manzur

Period poverty is defined as the struggle those who have a menstrual cycle face while trying to afford menstrual products. Despite not being able to control a menstrual cycle, those who have one are still left to purchase products that some cannot afford. I believe that menstrual products should be an approved item to purchase using government subsidies or covered through medical insurance. To help alleviate this problem for our local community, I have started a school club called “That’s on Period Project.”

That’s on Period Project’s goals are to raise awareness about the stigmas surrounding menstruation, to raise money to purchase period products and to organize period product drives.

We aim to partner with local organizations who support those in need, and to provide donations of the menstruation products for those in need.

Recently That’s on Period organized a drive where Mount Madonna School students, parents, faculty and staff donated about 110 packages containing period products.

The chosen recipients of this drive are the Watsonville-run Center for Farmworker Families’ Oaxacan Community Shed, a nonprofit organization dedicated to education, advocacy, and support for farmworker families and Gilroy’s Community Solutions, which provides services for families and individuals of all ages who are facing times of crisis, ranging from mental health and substance use to domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking.

The Center for Farmworker Families’ Oaxacan Community Shed was chosen because of the large number of the migrant families living in Watsonville who are in desperate need of assistance to meet essential daily needs like personal hygiene products, including period products. Some

Sophia Manzur

of the families using this organization’s resources must choose between feeding their children or purchasing items like tampons and pads. For these families accessing period products is a luxury instead of a basic human need that should be fulfilled.

Sophia Manzur with some of the products she collected to donate.

One of the reasons Community Solutions was selected is because they serve survivors of domestic violence who flee their homes without personal belongings like clothing and toiletries.

“Period Poverty” page 12