What is Period Poverty?
Period poverty happens when you don't have access to period products when you need them. It can also happen if you've never learned how to use them or learned about how periods work.
What are we doing about it?
We're providing free period products to help address the negative effects that period poverty can cause, such as “physical health problems such as reproductive and urinary infections” as well as “issues related to mental health” (The Lancet Regional Health Americas). We've also compiled a list of resources that you can access below
Why are we doing it?
Fontana Regional Library's Long Range plan guides us in serving the needs of our communities, including those in the areas of health & wellness, educational opportunities, and affordable living. The "Access. Period." project aligns with our goals in these areas by providing access to free period products, providing educational support and resources for women's health issues, and offering practical positive impacts on local household & individual budgets.
Who is paying for this?
This project is funded by a grant awarded by the Great Smokies Health Foundation.
Where can I learn more about periods and menstruation cycles?
- BOOKS
- Welcome to Your Period by Yumi Stynes
- A frank, funny, age-appropriate guide for pre-teens about getting your period, from Dr Melissa Kang and Yumi Stynes. Grades 4-8
- Celebrate Your Body (and its changes, too!) by Sonya Renee Taylor
- “Think of this book as your new best friend that will help you learn about - and celebrate - your amazing, changing, one-of-a-kind body!" Grades 4-8
- The Period Book: A Girl's Guide to Growing Up by Karen Gravelle
- “Explains what happens at the onset of menstruation, discussing what to wear, going to the gynecologist, and how to handle various problems.” Grades 4-8
- Own your Period by Chella Quint
- "This fact-filled guide to periods answers all your essential questions like what's a vulva, what do periods actually feel like, and what happens if blood stains your clothes?" Grades 6 and up
- You-ology: A Puberty Guide for Everybody by Melissa Holmes
- “From the most trusted name in child health, American Academy of Pediatrics, comes a new, inclusive approach to learning about puberty!” Grades 6 and up
- Go with the Flow by Lily Williams (fiction)
- Period Power: A Manifesto for the Menstrual Movement by Nadya Okamoto
- “The Harvard student and founder of the Period.org women's health NGO outlines a manifesto on menstruation and how today's young adults can engage in activism to stand up against menstruation stigmas and male-favoring medical practices that discriminate against women.” Grades 7 and up
- I've got my period. So what? By Clara Henry
- "In a funny, powerful, and entertaining voice, this book covers important terms, types of sanitary protection, and the history of menstruation and women's fight for equal access to reproductive healthcare" Grades 7 and up.
- Period: Twelve Voices Tell the Bloody Truth
- “In this collection, writers of various ages and across racial, cultural, and gender identities share stories about the period.” Grades 9-12
- Welcome to Your Period by Yumi Stynes
Where can I learn more about period poverty?
- Read
- Articles
- “It's a dignity issue”: Inside the movement tackling period poverty in the U.S.
- Menstrual health: a neglected public health problem
- Menstruation-Related Discrimination is Sex Discrimination — We Don't Need to Erase Trans or Non-Binary People to Make That Point
- Period poverty and mental health implications among college-aged women in the United States
- Books
- Articles
- Watch
