12:30, 28 May 2024
Words by Cheyanne Bryan, Editorial and Campaign Marketing Executive, London
Think about it: imagine getting free and sustainable period products delivered to your door every month?
While many local governments and charities step in to ease some of the financial burden that can be associated with the general rising cost of items, period poverty still affects many people.
Scotland has manned the helm when they voted for the free provision of period products to all who need them and became the first nation to do so. But it looks like a Welsh council is taking a leaf out of their book.
Bridgend County Borough Council in Wales has launched a campaign to provide all under 25s with free period products and they have partnered with eco-conscious supplier Grace & Green to deliver high quality and sustainable products.
Yet, there's more to it.
Smiley News was able to catch up with Period Dignity Worker, Lois Sutton and AJ Kavanagh, Youth Council / YPOP Member, to get to know the nitty-gritty of the work they have done to make periods more accessible to Bridgend residents.
Commencing off the back of the Welsh Government’s Period Power initiative, Lois told Smiley News that funding was made available for the Period Proud scheme across Wales and Bridgend County Borough Council started their efforts with educating about period dignity in schools and for people from lower-income households.
From their first steps, the team stayed in constant communication with their service users to ensure they could tailor their work to reach the best outcome. Lois said: “36% of the respondents said that their periods have impacted the school attendance. And 42% of the respondents said that the periods that impacted the school performance.”
She continued: “When the initiative took off in Bridgend, we had over 2000 subscriptions within the first couple of months, which we were not prepared for because there was a massive uptick.”
A range of products were made available, not only in schools but surplus inventory was also given away to third sector organisations, sports clubs and community centres which broadened their impact with the scheme. A pilot run of public stalls in community centres facing stools were set up and garnered a positive reaction from visitors.
Grab bags were curated and supplied to teams that work with unhoused people, domestic violence victims/survivors.
Throughout the whole delivery of the scheme, Bridgend County Borough Council worked collaboratively with the Youth Council to make sure it was being delivered to best support the needs of young people in Bridgend.
When asked why partnering with Grace and Green for this project was a deliberate decision, AJ chimed in and said “ Our Youth Council were really instrumental in leading on the bigger things with the initiative and like one of our main priorities was that they were eco sustainable. So there was a heavy emphasis on sustainable, eco-friendly and reusable products.”
But how does this link to period dignity?
Well, the period dignity team intentionally made sure they were championing diversity throughout the delivery of this project. Combining a mix of in person and physical elements to their campaign such as setting up peer-led networks and ambassadors in schools with an informative social media page for those that wanted to learn privately.
It was when they started working more with the Youth Council that access, inclusion and sustainability became a core part of their strategy. AJ comments that as a member of the Youth Council, the inclusive approach “drew people to it”.
To find out more about their work and the subscription boxes online here.
At Smiley Movement, we like to elevate the work of charities across the world. Here are three charities whose causes align with the themes in this article.
Bloody Good Period. This is a charity that provides menstrual supplies to those who need it the most. They also advocate for menstrual health and access for all. Learn more here.
Freedom4Girls. This works to provide menstrual products and education on menstrual health to girls and women in need, both in the UK and internationally. Find out more here.
The Red Box Project. This charity aims to tackle period poverty by providing free menstrual products to schools and colleges. Support them here.
