Sanitary protection when money is tight

Nobody at all on here has said that they have no sympathy for the girls concerned, or even for the families.Some of us though do understand that there are problems that money alone will not solve.Free products at school and available at food banks is a good idea, and perhaps already are there in some areas.

I don't watch dubious links, surely they should have been more diligent and followed the rules re benefits and then they wouldn't have been sanctioned in the first place. Anyway I'm finished with this thread.

ninny I know exactly what you are saying, but dj thinks that every problem is about money only .

If your first breath is used to judge the parent (the mother was noticeably specified - what if there isn't one?) rather than think of ways to deal with the problem - particularly when you do not know the individual circumstances - and you show a complete lack of understanding about what recent policies have done to the working poor then I think criticism is not as unreasonable as you make it seem Maggiemaybe.

I still haven't come up with any ideas but will, as others have said, put some sanitary towels in the collection box in the supermarket. I do think schools should have them available. I know one of the places I worked used to have a little basket with some in the ladies loo. Apparently it was cheaper than paying for a vending machine.

skwawkbox.org/2017/07/01/video-dont-watch-if-you-afraid-of-having-your-life-changed-so-pls-do-watchshare/

That's silly, ninny.
When you have children you do not know what is going to happen next, particularly in the modern system where you can end up going to food banks because you have been sanctioned.

You think everybody who ends up with nothing but her children should abandon them to the state rather than 'neglect' them?
The link is to a TED talk.

durhamjen in my world if you have children and then you don't look after them,then you are neglecting them. I have every sympathy for these girls.

Well yes, posters have said that it was neglect, dj, and that is what they think could be the cause of the girl's suffering, in some cases. That doesn't mean they are any less sympathetic to the girls affected. We can disagree about the cause, but nobody has said or implied that they are happy to stand back and watch young people suffer. I think that's offensive.

If I still needed protection I would definitely try the more environmentally friendly alternatives to pads and tampons. It's also much cheaper. Apart from the mooncup style designs, you can get reusable pads, sponges and the latest is period pants. The last one appeals to me and I've watched several reviews on the YouTube that give them the thumbs up.

I too have resorted to folded loo roll many times and I remember my Mum giving me one of her old sanitary belts. Pretty hopeless most of the time and my knickers always had horrible stained gusset edges. Thank goodness for stick on pads.

I find it hard to believe that some posters don't believe daughters can be left with out supplies. It's nothing new either. Talk about not being aware of the problems children can have because their parents lack some of the skills to be good parents.

Two people on the first page have said that it was neglect, Maggie. Not very pleasant.

isn't it sad that people who had awful deprived childhoods are happy to stand back and watch young people suffer in the same way you'd think they'd want to make sure nobody had to live the horrible lives they did ,this I did it so why cant you attitude makes me despair of the people in this country .

Who's said that then, *Paddyann? I must have missed it.

The Trussell Trust provide sanitary wear to anyone who needs it. They take it, too.
The government is supposed to be giving all the VAT from sanitary products to the Trussell Trust.

I've signed that petition... thanks for posting the link wilma

This is actually quite a hot topic and there's been several campaigns and petitions about the cost of sanitary products for poorer families and homeless women. Girls are missing school because of the lack of protection or are given it by friends, etc.

I've been supporting this campaign - Homeless women and sanitary products

I know Justine Greening has been involved in campaigns for school girls on free school meals to also get free sanitary products. Some big names have been helping out - Proctor and Gamble, Boots and British Gas. Have a look online for more information and see if you can network with somewhere.

A couple of months ago I also read about donating products like sanitary products and personal toiletries to foodbanks because it's not something that people think of when they're dropping something in the donation box. Since then, that's what I have donated. I'm sure clients will be grateful to be offered them and would just ask if they need anything. I'm sure many feel bad enough having to use a food bank and will be glad of the thoughtfulness.

isn't it sad that people who had awful deprived childhoods are happy to stand back and watch young people suffer in the same way you'd think they'd want to make sure nobody had to live the horrible lives they did ,this I did it so why cant you attitude makes me despair of the people in this country .

Yes PensionPat thank you for raising this issue. I too will add these to any donations I make to food banks in future.

Perhaps I am not as gullible and naive as you seem to be.

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I've got to say although I donate food items to the local food bank , it's never occurred to me to donate feminine products like tampax or sanitary towels..

I had a very difficult, poor and abusive childhood and I was left without sanitary protection sometimes when I was a teen..and like a previous poster had to utilise rolled up toilet paper or whatever I could every month.

Thank you for raising this issue, from now On I'll ensure that I donate sanitary items along with basic food items...

I would probably have needed at least 10 tampons a day as a teenager, and sanitary towels too to avoid 'accidents'' when the tampons needed changing! That's quite a few boxes per period - and I was having periods every 3 weeks too. I dread to think how I would have coped if my family had been struggling for money.

Why doesn't your food bank simply make up hygiene packs and put the tampons/towels in there? One of our local churches makes up packs from donated items in cheap/recycled make up bags-toothpaste/brush/deodorant/shampoo/soap/ comb/sanitary products.etc. The packs are distributed to food banks and the women's refuge. That way you would only need to ask if anyone wanted hygiene/personal care pack, whatever you want to call it.

Doesn't take a lot to make up these packs-I've done them many times for shoebox appeals, you can buy 2 toothbrushes for 17p and not a lot more for the other contents. A partnership programme with local church/WI/school/Guides could work well.

As someone who started menstruating in 1948 I can assure you that few of you know just what it was like. Being the child of a single ( widowed mother) I had to endure cloths which were laundered and I wouldn't want any young girl to go through that. Any scheme I could contribute to I will. Please tell me how I can.

Gracesgran, Katek in her post said that you can get 24 Tampax for £1, I am sure even the most chaotic and poorest of our society can pay that for their daughters to have sanitary protection so they can attend school if they won't then they are unfit to be parents. Perhaps I am not as gullible and naive as you seem to be.

Whether the girls are without sanitary products because their parents have run out of money or whether they are not very good with money, doesn't alter the fact that the girls need the products.

As you say, pensionpat, just asking basic questions about the households of food bank users should enable you to add sanitary products to the supplies of those with girls and women of the target age group. As for the wider community, the primary school I used to work in just left a basket of products in each of the appropriate toilets for older pupils or staff to take if needed. It wasn't a huge expense, and didn't take much effort. The cleaners just topped them up along with the soap, paper towels, etc. I'm really surprised that your local schools don't want to work with you, especially if you're offering to donate the products.

Perhaps it's time sanitary products were available on the NHS. I doubt that women who can afford them would take advantage of this - even though free condoms are available, most people surely still buy their own - but they'd be there for those who needed them.

The comments on here targeted at other posters and doubting or downplaying their personal experiences are completely uncalled for. Rude, patronising and unpleasant, as Roses says.

I remember writing a letter with a group of girls in my year at senior school to our local MP regarding sanitary wear.
Our point being that it was a biological fact of life that was out of a female control.
As it did not affect males it was in our view discriminatory to charge for sanitary wear.
We felt that basic sanitary products should be free.
We were about 13 or 14 at the time.
I can't remember if we had a reply.

Who was it who put the information on recently that some people see those who are poor to blame for all their problems and some see society as the problem.

I suppose that those who come down hard on one side or the other will not be convinced by the others argument but I have to say I feel that comments such as ninny has made are intemperate. I am sure some girls are left without because their parent or parents are unable to manage the chaos of their lives but that doesn't mean being judgemental will solve the problem for the girls concerned - surely you want to help them not make pillorying their parents your priority.

There are also parents who will simply not have that money ninny. Not because they haven't done everything they can but simply because the in-work cuts have left them cutting back, and then cutting back again when the next attack on them comes along. The very fact that you do not realise that, in this day and age, you can get to the point where you actually don't have £1.75 shows you really don't understand what the cuts have done and it makes me wonder about how much you just choose not to understand because it is easier to blame the individual every time than look at what your vote is doing to your neighbour.

I am sorry pensionpat I haven't come up with any useful suggestions but to you for what you are doing.

I have just remembered a line from a chap who researched and wrote a book about communities in poverty in the USA. He said that it is not making bad decisions that made the people he got to know poor, it was poverty that made poor decisions the only ones left they could make.