Innovative Solution to Period Poverty and Stigma in LA County

Food insecurity and access to basic needs

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

Every day in LA County, the lives, dignity, health, & potential of women/girls are being compromised by not having enough safe, affordable period products. It’s not a new problem but it’s unacceptable. Period poverty, affecting over 500,000 people here, is captured in poverty data. In 2023, LA County had the highest poverty rate in CA at 15.5%. 21% of Black, 18% of Latine,12% of Asian, and 11% of White women live below the federal poverty level as do 18% of people under 18. 1 in 3 households headed by single mothers live in poverty. Though managing periods is a basic need, period products are not covered by any assistance programs. This unequal access to period products perpetuates shame/inequities. Women/girls miss work/school, they don’t change products as recommended or use toilet paper/socks which can affect health, families are forced to choose between products and food/rent. 68% of women who experience period poverty monthly show symptoms of depression. We must do better.

Our proposed solution to this problem - piloting free menstrual cups & cup education to reduce period poverty/stigma - is innovative & financially & environmentally sustainable. We are the ONLY organization doing this here but there is abundant research from other countries that high cup adoption rates (85%) can be achieved when cups are given free with education/support. One silicone menstrual cup can be reused for 10 years, used safely for 12 hours, has 1% of the carbon footprint of other products, protects absorptive vulvar tissue from exposure to toxins, decreases transmission of STIs & incidence of bacterial vaginosis. However, awareness of cups, how to use them, and access remain extremely low in underserved communities.
Our no-TMI workshops & free cup distribution empower women/girls with new tools; improve menstrual knowledge; address concerns about toxins in disposable products & plastic in our environment; offer greater self-sufficiency/body autonomy/incredible cost-savings for life-changing impact. We also address period stigmas and patriarchal norms. When a Lynwood High School teen says only “nasty girls” use inserted products or a mother at Alexandria House is anxious about period odor, our in-culture team creates safe spaces for discussion.
Funds will support expanding our work - more partners, in-person events & cup donations - and go towards a new system for supporting participants on their cup journeys & collecting data.

Over the grant period, we hope to provide cup education & donate 10K menstrual cups working with 50+ new community-facing partners to LA County’s least resourced women/girls.
We are ambitiously aiming for a 50% adoption rate. If even 5000 women/girls adopt cups, they could save themselves/their families between $20-40 million dollars and keep 60-80 million disposable products out of wastestream! Long-term, we hope to expand to provide cups to over 100K under-resourced women/girls in LA County over the next 5 years; collect cup adoption data to prove it would be feasible/smart for schools/jails/other programs to provide free cups; & collaborate on legislation so that ultimately all low-resourced people in LA County and beyond have cup awareness/education/access.
We envision a greener, more equitable County (and world!) where no one’s dignity, health/mental health, scholarship, livelihood or potential is compromised by a normal biological function without which none of us would be here!

Since 2017, we’ve partnered with 50+ LA orgs & distributed 10K cups to low resourced, primarily Black & Latine women/girls, including many recent immigrants and first-gen Americans. Our anecdotal response is exciting. One teen shared: “I can go to school and work, less afraid of leaking on my clothes.” Another said: “I feel free, and I’m happy that I don’t have to ask my parents to spend money.” A small sample group adopted cups at 50% and reported they no longer experience a shortage of period products.
But many people need more support to try/adopt cups. We hope to increase in-person events, expand contact information collection & provide more educational support to people on their cup journeys through a new SMS (texting) system. This system will also allow us to get feedback to improve/adjust programming and collect data with surveys at 3, 6, 9 and 12 post-events to better track cup adoption rates & increase them to power broader systemic change.