Community Outreach Partner: STFM Conference on Medical Student Education

Most of us do not spend a lot of time thinking about diapers. But if you are a parent, grandparent, or caregiver without enough of them, they can become a major source of stress, guilt, and desperation. Public safety net programs such as The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, previously known as food stamps) do not cover the purchase of diapers, often leaving families with a difficult decision between buying diapers and other necessities with their limited funds. For families in need, something as small as a diaper can have a significant impact.

Awareness has grown globally about menstruating individuals struggling because they lack period products. Far less recognized is the impact of this issue right in our own community. A significant portion of low-income menstruating individuals in North Carolina do not have affordable access to the products they need each month.

As with other hygiene products not covered by government programs such as WIC and SNAP (food stamps), menstruating individuals must make difficult trade-offs to cope with the expense of menstrual pads and tampons. They skip rent payments or go without groceries. They use fewer products at the expense of health and hygiene. They substitute by using toilet paper to line their underwear and then worry about embarrassing accidents.

The inability to afford personal essentials increases emotional stress and stigma. It drives menstruating individuals to miss school, work, or social engagements. Above all, it challenges their sense of personal dignity.

The Diaper Bank of North Carolina believes that dignity is not a privilege. Menstruating individuals deserve to be able to fully participate in their lives, no matter the time of the month.

The Diaper Bank of North Carolina is addressing period poverty in the NC community through the Period Power initiative. Period Power allows existing community partners to offer period products to clients who may also be receiving diapers.