It’s Period Poverty Awareness Week. For Care Collective of Southwest Michigan, that’s every week. The group provides discrete looking period kits in schools and other places in Kalamazoo County.
Sarah Koestler is the executive director.
She says more than half of Kalamazoo families don’t earn enough to meet basic needs. And period supplies are often cut from the family budget. She says:
“When teens have access to the products they need, they attend school, they feel reduced shame and stigma, and they can engage more in their school and community.”
Koestler says the goal this week is to raise awareness about period poverty. Her group hopes people consider posting on social media and volunteering or donating to non-profits like Care Collective, which also distributes diapers.