Campaign assists women with hygiene needs
MICHELLE ALLENBERG
POSTMEDIA NEWS
A group of Niagara women is working toward making the lives of disenfranchised women better.
Through the grassroots organization the Period Purse, a group working at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Welland is collecting and distributing feminine hygiene products. Gently used purses are also being collected, which will be filled with feminine products and given to women in need.
Julie Barker, organizer of the program, said she has heard there is a need for feminine pads and tampons in Niagara. Barker has heard of homeless women using socks, newspaper and toilet paper because they can’t afford feminine products during menstruation.
“It’s expensive enough for women who are working,” co-organizer Patti Magnus said.
Barker said no developed country should have an issue with women not being able to afford sanitary products. When menstruation is something a large portion of society lives with, there should be access to those products.
“No matter how hard you try, you can’t meditate it away, there’s nothing you can do … Not only are they (pads/tampons) 12, 15 bucks, they’re taxed,” she said.
Four times a year the group will have a “blitz” when they will collect purses and products on a large scale. Baker said the next blitz will most likely be in August, right before school starts. But Barker is encouraging people to donate to the church throughout the year.
“It takes a village. You know we need to be helping everyone we can in our own communities,” she said.
Co-organizer Mary Ellen DuPon said the Period Purse initiative will serve all of Niagara, not just Welland. The purses will be distributed among various organizations throughout the region and will then be given to women in need.
Barker said some of the purses will be kept at the church and distributed to women who use the church’s food bank.
The purses will be filled with items including toothpaste, deodorant, new socks, hand sanitizer and toilet paper. People can drop off used purses and hygiene products at Holy Trinity on Division Street.
For more information about volunteering or what is of need, email Barker at theperiodpurseniagara@ gmail.com or visit the Facebook page at theperiodpurseniagara.