In a country as wealthy as this one, there are some things we take for granted. A shining example is the menstruating population's expense and lack of access to basic hygiene needs.
Not having access to basic period products can have devastating consequences.
Period poverty is a lack of consistent and affordable access to menstrual hygiene products. While approximately half of the population menstruates, those in the Black community suffer more than any other group.
This challenge sparked Nya McGlone and Lynette Medley to form their organization.
McGlone and Medley, a mother and daughter team, founded No More Secrets Mind Body Spirit Inc to reduce menstrual health disparities in underserved communities.
Society stigmatizes those who menstruate and not having access can also lead to further health issues down the line such as infections or even death.
Our community is already disproportionately affected by poverty, and menstruating makes it worse. A typical month of hygiene products costs an average of $13.25 or about $6,000 per lifetime - and this number keeps increasing. Those with health conditions such as fibroid or other health issues have to spend even more.
McGlone and Medley understand one thing: the system allows corporate manipulation of things like pink taxes and SNAP benefit restrictions to make Black lives much harder, but we don’t have to accept what the system does to us. With their efforts and grassroots approach, change is happening.