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Sometimes going without the extras in life is a necessity when finances are tight, but young girls going without the necessary products used for their periods should never be an option.
Period poverty is the name that has been given to the situation where young girls and women have a lack of access to hygiene products during monthly periods. Those living in poverty are most vulnerable to period poverty and may also lack access to clean and adequate places to use such products.
"It's a huge issue across the country and around the world," said Lili Amanda Crum, a member of the Junior League of Williamsport. Crum, along with fellow league member Latricia Scutching are leading the league's CodeRed.PERIOD program to address the issue locally.
So many people haven't heard about period poverty, Crum said.
"You just don't think. You buy your tampons or you buy your pads and you move on. A lot of kids don't have that opportunity especially if you're living with a single mom or you're living with your dad, it's not something you kind of want to talk about. So their only opportunity is to possibly get the products at school.
"We decided to do it because period products are not something that is government funded in Pennsylvania. There's only a few states that actually offer that and Pennsylvania is one of those states that do not offer any -- they're not required to fund period products at all in the schools," Crum said.
Some of the members of the Junior League are teachers and they know first hand that some students don't have the option of having products either because they can't afford them or if something happens at school unexpectedly, they aren't prepared.
"A lot of the teachers actually use their own money to purchase the period
products... in case they need them, they can go up to one of the teachers," Crum said.
"We decided to look into it and see what we could do for the local schools and we decided to come up with this project called Code Red-PERIOD. That allows us to address period poverty in the local area school districts," she said.
When students don't have access to the products for whatever reason, it can affect their attendance and performance in school.
"It causes barriers and it prevents students from being their best self. They might not go to school because they don't have the period product. They might be afraid to join a class because, you know, they stand up and God forbid their period shows through in their pants," Crum said.
"Having your period is not something that should be taboo and something that shouldn't be spoken of. It should be something that as a woman you should be proud of and it shouldn't be something that you want to hide from. When you don't have the products, a lot of the students are kind of hiding and not being able to participate in the school activity that they would like to so we want to make sure that we can get out and help them as much as possible. We just want to raise awareness for period property in Williamsport," she said.
The Junior League offered the products to several local high schools and middle schools. Jersey Shore is one of the districts that is participating in the program.
Superintendent Dr. Brian Ulmer sees where not having ready access to these products could contribute not only to absenteeism, but also to anxiety and loss of instructional time during school hours.
"I would definitely say absenteeism because if they're afraid to come to school when it's happening and stay home, then we see those absences increase. And not only anxiety, but then frequent trips to the nurse like if they don't have access themselves, and they have to go to the nurse's office to get products throughout the school day. That's a lot of missed class time," Ulmer said.
"Anything we can do to help support our students and make them feel more successful and have a better relationship to school is important to me," Ulmer said of the district's decision to accept the Junior League's help.
Jodi Woleslagle, director of pupil services at Jersey Shore, said that period poverty is something the district has definitely seen among their students.
"Typically our nurses will purchase, with some of their budget money, some products to keep in their offices for when students need it, but oftentimes, like when they go home for the weekend, then they don't have access to those products. So what the Junior League is doing is actually giving us weekend bags so that the girls can have access to those products when they go home," Woleslagle said.
Crum said the Junior League opted to put together the weekend bags because "a period doesn't just happen on Monday through Friday."
"We offer weekend bags and this is for students who don't have that opportunity at home or you know, possibly going to a foster home or dad's home where just talking about a period is taboo," Crum said.
The weekend bag is just a paper lunch bag with the Code Red sticker on the top to close the bag. Inside are either tampons, pads and liners, in different sizes for the student's preference. Weekend bags are also available for students during holiday breaks.
Because the Code:Red initiative was designed to help fill a need due to students not attending school, sports and school activities due to not having period products, the Junior League will not be continuing to supply products during the summer, Crum said.
"That would be a great idea, however, to explore in the future for the Junior League of Williamsport," she said.
Williamsport Area School District is another participating district and Corrina Gnoffo, director of health services in the district, sees it as a much needed program.
"There is definitely a need among school districts for this type of program. What a great way to support students who lack access to basic essential items. Williamsport Area School District is excited about Code:Red being launched at the high school and middle school levels," Gnoffo said.
The Williamsport Area School District is the area's largest district with approximately 5,000 students enrolled, including 119 homeless schoolchildren.
"This is a common concern for many of our students. We see students in need of period products starting as early as third grade," Gnoffo said.
Like Jersey Shore, in the past the schools have provided menstrual products in all the health offices across the district, but again, this was just during school hours.
"This does not meet student needs once they leave school. Students in need of menstrual products outside of school hours are referred to school social workers and other outside community resources," Gnoffo explained.
Although Gnoffo could not speak specifically to the issue of increased absenteeism because of a lack of accessibility to period products, she said that probably applies to certain situations.
So what is causing the inability of students to acquire the necessary sanitary products? In part, the economy contributes with the cost of the products prohibitive for some families.
"I think it's a variety of factors. I mean, it could be income. It could be the cost of the products. It could be a lack of transportation to get to the store to purchase them," Ulmer said.
"If you live in a rural part of Jersey Shore, the trip to any store where these products could be sold could be a significant travel. And if you aren't planning on going there more than once a month or every other week or something and you don't pick them up when you're there and then you have your period a week later, it might be two more weeks before someone gets to the store. But the students are still coming to school on the bus and so we're trying to provide that support," he said.
Williamsport also has seen the need for the products in the school setting as the cost has increased.
"Due to overall inflation, the number of health office visits for menstrual products has increased. Supplies are ordered annually so we have stock available for our students. School nurses are thankful we are able to provide products for students in need and those who happen to occasionally forget supplies at home," Gnoffo said.
Addressing the issue of period poverty was a natural fit for the Junior League who works helping the community, especially women and children.
But, providing these products is an ongoing thing, with associated costs.
Right now the group has an anonymous donor helping with funding. They also have a wishlist on Amazon.
To raise awareness, the Junior League is planning to set up tables at local stores where people can choose to purchase something and donate it then or learn how to access the wishlist to donate later. Donations are also being sought from local businesses to help sustain the program.