Pad Project at USC tackles period poverty

The newly official Pad Project at USC recognized National Homelessness Youth Awareness Month Nov. 1 by kicking off their first drive of the year: collecting menstrual products to donate to the SkidRow Community Refresh Spot, which gives unhoused people a safe place to shower, do laundry, use the bathroom, get drug testing kits and treat injuries, and is always in need of menstrual products.

Catherine Chan, a senior majoring in global health and president of the Period Project at USC, said that this location was chosen partly because of the safe haven it provides to unhoused menstruators.  

“The reason why we chose the SkidRow Community Refresh Spot is because in the topic of period poverty, there’s a focus on, ‘Hey, we need to get these products to people,’ but it really is about more than products. Pain medication, water access, a proper garbage disposal: all these factors come in when we’re talking about menstrual equity,” Chan said. 

Stephanie Lee, a graduate student studying health systems management engineering and a Pad Project member, said that by choosing the Refresh Spot for their donations, they were able to reach more people who may need them.

“Oftentimes, these menstrual products are only offered in women’s shelters, and not all women menstruate and not all menstruators are women,” Lee said. “By choosing [the SkidRow Community Refresh Spot], we’re able to be way more inclusive to the whole community of Skid Row.”

Last Thursday, the Pad Project at USC began sorting the initial donations into kits that could then be passed onto the Community Refresh spot. Each kit had 10 pads, tampons and pantyliners, and just from the first donations, the chapter was able to create 30 kits — the goal for the entire drive will be creating 100 by Nov. 30. Chan said she hopes that through these kits, they can help homeless menstruators maintain a sense of cleanliness and dignity.  

“Menstruators who do not have access to period products because they’re expensive, they’re hard to get and shelters don’t often provide them, they often have to resort to unsanitary alternatives, like old newspapers or rags,” Chan said. “[These donations provide] a way of being able to take care of their periods and manage their periods with dignity.”

Isabel Chavero, a sophomore majoring in political science and a Pad Project member, said she hopes this drive will provide a brief respite to unhoused people in L.A.  

“Donating these menstrual products hopefully will give [houseless people] one less thing to worry about for a short amount of time,” Chavero said. “There’s so many barriers that houseless people already have to face, and having a comfortable experience with your period or when you’re menstruating is something that shouldn’t be viewed as a luxury.”

Chavero said the aim of having the drive on campus is to bring attention to the fact that sanitary items are just as essential, and therefore just as needed by unhoused people, as food and water.

“A lot of the time when we talk about donating to houseless people, it’s very much about food, water and clothing, which are all very important,” Chavero said. “Sometimes, people don’t consider that people facing homelessness also get their period: it’s not something you can stop.”

Globally, Lee said the Pad Project not only aims to serve frontline communities, but to give them the resources needed to support themselves without outside assistance. 

“[The Pad Project] tries to implement this social enterprise model where they have pad making machines and, with that, these women are able to start their own business where they actually are able to manufacture these products,” Lee said. “It not only supports the delivery of menstrual products, but also supports women in business.”

The USC chapter, Lee said, specifically intends to deliver period equity within the greater L.A. community. When not running the drive, the club focuses on a different topic of menstrual equity each week, meeting in CPA 109 every Thursday from 7:30-8:30. Subjects range from the effect of menstrual inequality on L.A.’s unhoused population and incarcerated people, to Black activism within menstruation, to destigmatizing periods. 

The organization’s upcoming events include a screening of the documentary, “Period. End of Sentence,” and a “bleed green” event in April centered around eco-friendly menstrual options, such as menstrual cups, period underwear and sewing reusable cloth menstrual pads. Through the end of November, the club’s full focus will be on the period product drive.

“It’s exciting because we get to help people within our local community,” Lee said. “We’re able to see the big picture with what this larger organization does globally, but with the resources we have, we can focus mainly on community.”