Addressing Period Poverty through Community Collaboration

 

Period poverty is defined as the lack of access to basic menstrual hygiene products. This lack of access affects over ten million menstruators in the U.S. alone. Additionally, over five million of these individuals are forced to choose between menstrual products or food. There is no way to get around menstruation. However, increasing access to period products makes this process more bearable. Even with adequate access, though, the stigma surrounding periods remains. 

Through Go With The Flo, a collaborative effort between Kent State Community Engaged Learning’s Newman Civic Fellowship, the Kent State Women’s Center, the Kent City Health Department, and Kent City Schools, we are addressing local period poverty and the stigma surrounding menstruation. Supported by donations from community members, Go With The Flo is providing menstrual hygiene products to local elementary, middle and high schools.  In addition to providing products, we are destigmatizing and normalizing menstruation by providing the products in donated and student designed cosmetic bags. Students will be able to  grab a bag and go, without feeling like they have to hide the products that they need. 

The idea for Go With the Flo came out of a series of meetings between the Kent State 22-23 Newman Civic Fellow, Isobel Day, and her mentor and the Director of the Kent State Women’s Center, Cassie Pegg-Kirby. With a mutual passion for gender equity, as well as the platform provided by the Newman Civic Fellowship, Isobel and Cassie worked together to develop a plan to address period poverty in Kent. 

Go With the Flo is by no means the first or only project addressing period poverty in our community. The Kent State Undergraduate Student Government Period Project committee provides free menstrual products in bathrooms across the Kent State campus in collaboration with Ohio woman owned business Aunt Flow. In the greater Kent community with support from local businesses, a “take one leave one” initiative has provided free menstrual products in business bathrooms in downtown Kent. Utilizing the momentum of these successful projects, Go With the Flo will aim to help broaden the scope to eliminate period poverty to our local Kent City Schools. 

Moving forward, and adapting the ideas of the Little Boxes of Kindness, along with Lending Libraries we are working toward a way to sustainably provide free menstruation resources to the greater Kent community. Free menstrual products located in downtown Kent would allow individuals to access the products that they need when they need them. We are excited to continue and build upon our work with Kent State students and local organizations to grow this effort. Donations will be accepted at locations across campus during the month of March. Donations will be accepted year round at the Women's Center in the Williamson House, 1200 E. Main Street. To learn more about the project and ways to get involved go to www.kent.edu/gowiththeflo

Specific data provided by https://www.joghr.org/article/32436-period-poverty-why-it-should-be-everybody-s-business

POSTED: Thursday, February 23, 2023 06:59 PM
Updated: Thursday, February 23, 2023 08:32 PM
WRITTEN BY:
Isobel Day, Political Science Major, Class of 2023