Although menstrual products aren't exactly cheap, most women are able to stretch their budgets enough to afford them. It's a different story for women living in poverty.
Many don't have enough money left for menstrual products after paying for other necessities, said Danielle Bray, drop-in co-ordinator with the Corner Clinic.
Once a month, Bray's organization, which provides health services to the city's needy and homeless population, hands out personal hygiene packages, including menstrual products, for those who need them.
The Corner Clinic relies on donations to stock those personal hygiene packages.
Bray said she's heard some horrible stories about what women must do when they don't have access to pads, tampons or other menstrual products.
“They go into a public bathroom and they bunch up Kleenex or toilet paper and use that,” she said. “I've heard stories of them using socks as a substitute for a pad. Oh, it breaks my heart. Nobody deserves to live like that. We're all entitled to dignity.”
On March 6, the United Way North East Ontario and the Sudbury and District Labour Council are holding an event called Tampon Tuesday aimed at bringing in donations of menstrual products for local needy women.
The second annual event, which is a takeoff on a national campaign, takes place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Kuppajo Espresso Bar on Larch Street.
Participants are invited to donate $4 or unopened packages of tampons, pads, diva cups, incontinence products or underwear.
The items will be given to YWCA Sudbury and the Sudbury Food Bank, where they will be distributed to other area agencies in need.
The event will feature light refreshments and talks by several guest speakers.
They include Nicole Ayotte, director of labour community services at United Way North East Ontario, Emma Lapierre, shelter support worker with YWCA Genevra House and Amanda Kingsley Maio, founder of PoliticsNOW.
“When women are struggling and can't afford these products, they have to try and seek them out,” said Ayotte, who organized the Tampon Tuesday event.
“They have to rely on shelters or organizations to get these products. It's something they face every month, and there isn't always enough out there at these organizations because there's a lack of awareness.
“People don't know that they can donate these products, or where they can donate them.”
YWCA Sudbury executive director Marlene Gorman said her organization provides menstrual products to clients.
They recently received a donation of pads and tampons from a marketing company, which is why they're distributing the Tampon Tuesday donations among other local agencies.
Menstrual products can be out of reach for some women when they're spending 80 per cent of their income on rent and the rest on food, she said.
“If we can get feminine hygiene products to women who need them, then that's money they don't have to spend on that and that they can spend on other needs for themselves and their families,” Gorman said.
For more information about the Tampon Tuesday event, visit its Facebook page.
If you can't make it out but would like to donate, Ayotte suggests bringing menstrual products to agencies such as the Sudbury Food Bank or YWCA Sudbury.
Through their Donating Dignity campaign, Sunflower Consignment Boutique on Notre Dame Avenue also accepts personal care items for women, including menstrual products, which they donate to the Corner Clinic.
