Westchester teens collect 6,000 pads, tampons to fight period poverty
This week is Period Poverty Awareness Week.
This week is Period Poverty Awareness Week and two teens are taking action to fight the issue in Westchester County.
Gabriela Brant, 15, and Maya Kollarmalil, 16, are the co-founders of the H.E.R.R. Initiative.
Since March, their group has been collecting pads and tampons to help fight period poverty. According to UN Women, the term refers to the inability to afford or access menstrual products.
"It's just something people really don't talk about, in general," Brant says. "There's so much stigma surrounding any sort of issue surrounding menstruation."
Kollarmalil says they were inspired to take action in Westchester after seeing the problem firsthand.
"Personally, there have been a lot of menstrual [product] dispensers, and these dispensers were empty," Kollarmalil says.
They say that so far during their product drive, they have collected more than 6,000 items. They have packed them into supply kits that will be distributed throughout the county by 914 Cares.
Lisa Horten, the nonprofit's CEO, says the need is only growing.
"Last year, 914 Cares gave out 550,000 period supplies...There's definitely a need; we've seen an increase," Horten says.
To ensure greater access to period products, the teens say they're ready to take their efforts even further.
"In the civic awareness aspect, we're thinking, honestly, to connect with legislators and local officials," Kollarmalil says.
"Because they should be recognized as a fundamental right," Brant says.
To learn more about their organization, click here.
