A local organization is working to reduce the stigma that still surrounds menstruation and feminine hygiene products.
Staff with the United Way Windsor-Essex Chatham-Kent spent most of yesterday afternoon accepting donations for the Period Promise campaign at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Chatham.
CEO Lorraine Goddard says no one should feel uncomfortable or afraid of talking about their period.
“It’s just natural, it’s a part of life, no way of getting around it,” Goddard says. “I think the more that we do this and the more that we talk about it in the community, then stigma gets eliminated eventually.”
Goddard says women are disproportionately represented in poverty numbers, and as the cost of living continues to rise, so does the need for support in Chatham-Kent.
“Feminine hygiene products are a basic necessity, they’re very expensive, women pay taxes on them as well,” Goddard says. “Young women that are still in school are not going to school because they don’t have any product, or women are being forced to choose how much food can I buy in my groceries for my kids because I also have these very expensive products.”
All of the feminine hygiene items donated will stay in Chatham-Kent, divided among local organizations that support individuals and families experiencing poverty, homelessness, or crisis.
“We want to be able to ensure that the people that need this product, they can go to a lot of different places in the community and access it very simply.”
