Providing free menstrual products to homeless teens

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — On Saturday, October 12, Youth on Their Own and the Junior League of Tucson teamed up to host a volunteer event to benefit homeless youth in Tucson.

The event is part of Period Action Day, a global day of action to end period poverty.

Krista Hinman, CEO of Arizona Unpinked, says she’s never had to worry about access to essentials like menstrual products, but she knew she had to do something after learning how many struggle to get them. what you need.

“Being at school or at work and not having that basic medical care, it just breaks my heart that people have to struggle like that, especially in America,” Hinman said.

According to the Journal of Global Health Reports, two-thirds of low-income women in the United States would not be able to afford menstrual products in 2022.

The goal of Saturday’s local event was to ensure homeless youth here in Tucson have access to the products they need.

“So we have a number of volunteers who showed up today to package tampons, pads and other menstrual products for teenagers who are homeless and would likely miss school without access to these products,” said Elizabeth Slater, CEO of Youth on Their own.

The volunteers packed the products in small bags for easy transport. Youth on Their Own supports over 1,600 youth experiencing homelessness and provides thousands of period products each year.

“Many teenagers who are homeless simply cannot afford period products,” Slater said. “They are very expensive. So if they can’t get them for free from YOTO or another community resource, they simply won’t have them.”