Wauwatosa West HS students volunteer to help end period poverty

 

MILWAUKEE COUNTY (CBS 58) -- Some say period poverty is a public health crisis that's not talked about enough.

Milwaukee Diaper Mission is working to support those who need access to menstrual supplies.

Period poverty is the lack of access to essentials like period supplies. Two in five people in the United States struggle to afford period products.

Meagan Johnson is Milwaukee Diaper Mission's executive director. She says shortly after starting the diaper bank, she realized there was a need to support those facing period poverty.

"Our organization is supporting over 700 people with periods every single month with the supplies that they need, but we're just scratching the surface," she said.

Wednesday morning, a group of volunteers from the Feminist Student Union at Wauwatosa West High School spent time packing period kits to be donated.

Sarah Cape was one of the volunteers working at the tampon station.

"What we're doing over here is we're packaging 20 tampons into these packs along with five overnight pads," she said while working the assembly line.

Cape says she's happy the issue is being highlighted and to be part of helping others.

"It's really important to talk about these issues," she said.

While this effort is making an impact, Johnson says there's still much work to be done.

"I think in a perfect world, period supplies would be free to everyone across the state and across country and across the world. I think a first step is removing the sales tax from period supplies," she said.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley was in attendance and helped pack period kits while stressing the importance of this issue. Representatives from Senator Tammy Baldwin's office and Congresswoman Gwen Moore's office were also in attendance to show support.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson has issued a proclamation to Milwaukee Diaper Mission proclaiming the last week of May as National Period Poverty Awareness Week.

Those who wish to help the effort can click here for more information.