The Period Purse Experience

You're out and about when you experience that heart-stopping, panic-filled moment of knowing your period is coming and you're not prepared. It's uncomfortable, it's anxiety-inducing and luckily for most of us, the panic is temporary. You stop at a store, go home, grab a cover-up sweater or turn to a friend.  But for some of us, a whopping 63,450 menstruators in Canada experiencing homelessness, there is no quick fix. There is no spare clothing nor is there money for supplies. That anxiety, that uncomfortableness, it doesn't go away. It turns into weeks, months and years. It turns into dangerous substitutions, a myriad of health issues and in desperation, theft.

The Period Purse spoke with Jacqueline, a resident of one of Toronto's shelters, and she shared her experience with us:

"My worst memory [to] date is the day when I became homeless and realized that I have nowhere to go to seek help, even [when] I am on my period. I mean, I know that being homeless is a hard thing, but I didn't think that going through your period month after month as a homeless woman would be this nightmarish."

In a demographic that has trouble procuring their next meal, tampons usually a basic necessity, are a luxury. As Jacqueline explains it:

"Sometimes, I'd go for days without a pad, but whenever I could afford, I would buy cheap quality tampons from the dollar store. They didn't always absorb as much as they should, but again, you only get so much for buying from dollar store brands."

There are too many stories like Jacqueline's; impoverished menstruators using socks, paper products or stealing. There too are stories of young Indigenous girls in remote communities missing school for days at a time due to lack of access to menstrual products.

Mindful of these stories, Jana Girdauskas, founder of The Period Purse, decided to fill one purse, for one menstruator. She had all the products to fill the purse, but she was missing the purse itself and so she turned to Facebook. The rest, as they say, is history. Less than a month later, The Period Purse had 400 filled purses and chapters opening in various cities across Ontario.  A year into the mission and the organization has handed out over 3,000 purses and over 5,000 refill period packs, as well as driven policy change in Ontario legislature.

The Period Purse is undoubtedly a vital need, but as Jacqueline tells us, the purses also mean so much more:

"My first reaction when I received one of your purses from the shelter I was staying at was that I felt special. There are so many items inside the purse apart from the tampons and pads, like toothpaste, a toothbrush, a hairbrush, disposable wipes, etc. I don't have to worry about buying products like these on an ongoing basis. There is also a card with a message in each purse, which is very well-written. I felt like I was being addressed personally as opposed to a generic group of homeless women. I thought that was very nice as well."

The Period Purse would like to thank Jacqueline for sharing her story with us and reaffirming the importance of our mission.