Period.

Period.

Project Theme: Period poverty awareness and support

Target Audience and Location: Framingham High School community in Framingham MA.

Vision: The stigma and financial burdens surrounding menstruation are eradicated, so all people can better meet their needs.

Mission: Period. provides students accessible menstrual products while offering period poverty education and advocacy through various promotion efforts.

Project Description: Scholar Amelia Coates and educator Scholar Diane Burke knew they wanted to do something to improve the mental health of students at their school, they just were not sure what or how. Amelia also knew, through her previous efforts, that period poverty advocacy was something she wanted to continue.

So, eventually they combined the two to come up with Period., a project passionate about supporting women’s health and mental health. Since one intersecting issue impacting mental health is poverty, the team decided to focus on period poverty — the struggle, stress and increased economic vulnerability many low-income menstruating people face while trying to afford menstrual products which can further compound many mental health issues.

Through their efforts they have advocated for the need for free, accessible menstruation supplies with district and school administration and staff, building deeper understanding of why their project and cause matters so much. They built a team using their network to create their project as an initiative within a larger pre-existing club that had mission alignment and partnered with their school’s nurse who was already a champion for the health and mental health of their school community. With the nurse, they plan to add menstruation products to monthly supplies already being provided to families that help meet their basic needs. To sustain the project’s need for ongoing supplies, they partnered with Dignity Matters, a non-profit that will supply their school with free, environmentally conscious menstruation products monthly. And finally, team members are working on an ongoing awareness campaign, which will include educational awareness through posters, emails and weekly announcements made over the schools PA system.