{"id":5061275,"date":"2022-11-09T06:09:33","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T06:09:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/illatinonews.com\/?p=5061275"},"modified":"2022-11-09T06:09:33","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T06:09:33","slug":"period-poverty-in-illinois-community-driven-solutions-fighting-against-the-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/2022\/11\/09\/period-poverty-in-illinois-community-driven-solutions-fighting-against-the-issue\/","title":{"rendered":"Period Poverty in Illinois: Community-Driven Solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gray skies and clouds signal spotted rain showers above the heads of folks bundled in their winter coats, lining their carritos up along the side of a former church on Karlov and Kamerling Ave. They know the drill. Line up and wait for their number to be called, a recent change added to prevent arguments over who was there first or who stepped out of line. It\u2019s the first Friday of October, and although distribution begins at noon\u2013 two hours later\u2013 the line is already curving around the corner in anticipation of The Bloc\u2019s monthly pantry pop-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Bloc sits in Humboldt Park, Chicago\u2019s West Side neighborhood known for its rich Puerto Rican culture. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cmap.illinois.gov\/documents\/10180\/126764\/Humboldt+Park.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">55.4 percent of Humboldt Park residents<\/a> are Hispanic and 30.9 percent have an annual household income of less than $25,000. The statistics are reflected in the line, which consists of mostly middle-aged to elder Latinos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prepping the table of hygiene products sparks a comment from one of the volunteers, expressing frustration about her teen daughter who has been giving her period products to other students at their all-girls Catholic high school.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWell, what if they don\u2019t have products?\u201d Operations Manager Tanya Bermudez asked, matter-of-factly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This lack of access to menstrual products, hygiene facilities, education or waste management is referred to as period poverty, or menstrual poverty. It\u2019s difficult to pinpoint exactly how many people this phenomenon affects, but according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joghr.org\/article\/32436-period-poverty-why-it-should-be-everybody-s-business\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Journal of Global Health Reports<\/a>, 500 million people lack access to menstrual products and hygiene facilities worldwide, and in the U.S.,16.9 million people who menstruate live in poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An obvious contributor to period poverty is cost. Illinois <a href=\"https:\/\/www.illinoiscourts.gov\/News\/949\/Illinois-Court-History-Feminine-Hygiene-Products-Tax\/news-detail\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">eliminated the tampon tax<\/a> in 2016, although <a href=\"https:\/\/allianceforperiodsupplies.org\/tampon-tax\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">22 states<\/a> still tax menstrual products as luxury items. Prices of products vary depending on brand, preferred product type and flow\u2013but menstruating is expensive. In fact, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2022\/10\/12\/business\/cvs-tampon-tax-period-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CVS recently announced a plan<\/a> to reduce the price of their brand of period products by 25 percent to promote menstrual equity. Monthly tampon use over a person\u2019s lifetime is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ama-assn.org\/delivering-care\/population-care\/why-stigma-prevents-treating-menstrual-hygiene-essential\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">estimated to cost $1,800<\/a> and the price is increasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This year, inflation and supply chain issues raised the average price of menstrual pads by 8.3 percent and tampons by 9.8, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/nielseniq.com\/global\/en\/insights\/analysis\/2022\/the-numbers-behind-the-feminine-product-shortage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NielsenIQ<\/a>. For people already struggling to get by, this can be the difference between having a healthy period or having money for groceries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"5061282\" src=\"http:\/\/illatinonews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/4-edited-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5061282\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Crates of menstrual pads and tampons stored near punching bags and other boxing equipment before pantry distribution begins.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"5061281\" src=\"http:\/\/illatinonews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/5-1-edited-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5061281\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Bloc&#8217;s entry lined with period product, sexual health and adult diaper donations in preparation of the pantry pop-up.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Product distribution, like The Bloc\u2019s pantry pop-up, are community-driven solutions attempting to bridge the gap towards product access. The Bloc originated as a free youth mentor and boxing program, but has expanded its services and now offers free groceries, cleaning supplies, period products and more on a biweekly basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Bermudez joined The Bloc in September 2021, she saw an immediate need to reorganize the type of period products being ordered for distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRight away I knew we had way too many tampons, I know that this demographic wants pads, like I just already knew that,\u201d Bermudez said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/22980411\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study of low-income women<\/a> between the ages of 18 to 35 showed that 22 percent of English-speaking Latinas and only 5 percent of Spanish-speaking Latinas used tampons in adolescence, citing concerns that tampons were inappropriate for virgins or that they didn\u2019t know how to use them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tanya explained her experience growing up in a Latino household, \u201cIt was very taboo to even talk about. I was very curious and you know, my mother, me rega\u00f1aba if I had wanted to use a tampon. It\u2019s like no, you\u2019re not supposed to use that and I didn\u2019t know why, that was never explained to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ida Melbye runs The Period Collective, a Chicago-based nonprofit that provides period products to many organizations throughout the state, including The Bloc. She also noticed this preference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI hardly ever get \u2018we prefer tampons over pads\u2019 but I get all the time \u2018we prefer pads over tampons,\u2019 I think that it is partially cultural, partially it\u2019s an age thing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery aligncenter has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"5061285\" src=\"http:\/\/illatinonews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/10-edited-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5061285\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tanya Bermudez attempts to keep the pantry organized by numbering donation stations.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"5061288\" src=\"http:\/\/illatinonews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/9-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5061288\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tubs and crates full of period products available for pantry visitors to select.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the distribution begins, this becomes evident. The menstrual product station is the first table in the lineup of donations, and the first few women in line rush over to stock up on boxes of menstrual pads and pantyliners. They glaze over the crates of shiny blue and purple tubes. Tampons are left behind as pads fly off the table. This predominantly Latino community demonstrates an aspect of culture that shies away from insertable products like tampons.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although this option isn\u2019t as popular, Bermudez is passionate about including as many different brands and product types as possible. She explained that it allows people to test new things without taking a gamble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you\u2019re curious you can try it and not have to pay for a box of stuff you\u2019re not going to be able to use.\u201d she said. \u201cI want to make variety accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 20-something-year-old mom approached the table and grabbed two boxes of product, reaching for an additional handful of individually wrapped pads. Her toddler son, wearing a Pickachu-yellow Pokeman jacket, balanced a stack of white maxi pads tucked under his chin for support as his mother guided him towards the next station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By 12:25 p.m. there was a huge dent in the amount of products left, versus the amount that lined the hallways earlier that morning. Crates, bins, and boxes full of product sat along stairs and training areas of the gym. By the end of distribution, only tampons will be left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThose go back in the bin for next time,\u201d said Bermudez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Community food pantries and free products won\u2019t solve the issue of period poverty alone. Organizers and politicians in Illinois have implemented legislation, and are crafting more, to support menstrual equity in the state. It\u2019s a fight that continues, because whether products are affordable or not, and whether legislation supports it or not, people are going to menstruate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe would need trucks full of pallets to fill the need. It\u2019s never enough.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">_________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Publisher\u2019s note<\/em>: <em>\u201c<\/em><strong>Period Poverty in Illinois: Community-Driven Solutions<\/strong><em>\u201d<\/em> is part of a series of stories on <a href=\"https:\/\/centerforhealthjournalism.org\/2022\/06\/29\/period-poverty-exploring-stigmatization-and-solutions-one-america-s-most-silent-issues\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">period poverty in Illinois<\/a> supported by the USC-Annenberg Center for Health Journalism. ILLN Editor, Reporter Annabel Rocha was selected as a <a href=\"https:\/\/centerforhealthjournalism.org\/2022\/07\/05\/center-health-journalism-announces-2022-national-fellows\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2022 National Fellow<\/a> to explore challenges impacting child, youth and family health and well-being in the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ILLN views our audience as collaborators and in covering this topic, we need your help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We want to know your experiences dealing with menstruation and\/or period poverty. In collecting this information, we hope to gain insight on how this issue affects those in our communities. Please consider participating in the <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSf_oNXO3mbBm1AvFmgAPhdNQ87h7WPke9RDsJe-p-0PMlSrPQ\/viewform?usp=sf_link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Addressing Period Poverty<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSckYfc7WXvE5XNtmzlsKsPhyr_77Crkr8AgEHdhn83HbPy5LQ\/viewform?usp=sf_link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Abordando La Pobreza Menstrual<\/a> surveys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We hope to use the data collected from this survey to shape our storytelling and provide the answers you most want to hear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more information please contact annabel@latinonewsnetwork.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gray skies and clouds signal spotted rain showers above the heads of folks bundled in their winter coats, lining their 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