LAccess to Pads: LA County’s Menstrual Health Hub

Food insecurity and access to basic needs

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

In Los Angeles, 1.4 million people live in poverty, and we estimate 400,000 Angelenos can’t afford pads or tampons. The Pad Project partners with nonprofits, schools, and youth activists to provide access to menstrual products in 15 countries and all 50 U.S. states. Locally-led development is a central component of our programming where we lean on the existing knowledge, leadership, and networks within the communities we serve. While our localized approach to tackling menstrual inequity on a global scale has proven effective, there is no denying the sheer need for product accessibility and product choice right here in Los Angeles. We are applying for your grant to build an LA distribution program and respond to the growing demand for menstrual health resources from our community. With your help, we can decrease menstrual poverty for Angelenos by strengthening The Pad Project’s organizational capacity, increasing cause awareness, and resourcing the community we all call home.

In the last 4 years, we partnered with 14 LA-based organizations to provide 178,460 products. We have a proven track record of success; however, LA’s current distribution landscape is fragmented. With the LA 2050 grant, The Pad Project can establish “LAccess to Pads” and become Los Angeles’s leading provider, distributor, and educator for menstrual health. In December 2022, we started our local access program. Since then, we have distributed nearly 4,000 menstrual kits, but we cannot meet increasing demand with limited staff. To institute LAccess to Pads, we need funds to expand in 3 areas: oversight, education, and distribution.
First, we need an LA Program Coordinator to liaise exclusively with local organizations serving vulnerable populations. This staff member will oversee the monitoring and evaluation of our program, and facilitate the purchase and distribution of menstrual products. Second, we can expand and tailor our menstrual health education resources to offer workshops for communities, schools, and colleges. We are part of a global coalition that advocates for “Period Positive” workplaces to provide free menstrual products for employees. Our LA Program Coordinator would partner with the LA Department of Economic Opportunity and maximize our relationship with the global coalition to spearhead this initiative. Third, we would expand access to 150,000+ menstrual products for low-income teens and families and quadruple the number of Angelenos we serve in year one.

Long-term success for this grant would mean sustainable access to menstrual products for grassroots organizations, public schools, and all social service agencies in our network in Los Angeles County. We could expand into areas including Skid Row, South LA, Downtown LA, Pico-Union, Boyle Heights, and Hollywood, where folks experience the highest levels of homelessness and food insecurity in the county. As we increase product accessibility, we also aim to eradicate menstrual stigma for LA residents through reproductive health education. The menstrual equity movement that The Pad Project is shaping includes individuals of all genders, ages, sexualities, and reproductive statuses. Our programs will help create a new LA County - one where no student will miss school, no employee will suffer discrimination, and no person will have to choose between purchasing food or menstrual products.

Since 2020, we’ve distributed over 1,003,505 products and served over 86,500 individuals across the United States. While we’ve had a measurable impact across the country, our home base still requires attention. This grant would enable us to bring our sizeable network home to pilot a distribution program and establish “LAccess to Pads,” a local hub for menstrual health (MH) resources. As with our current US Programs, we’ll require each of our partners to complete quarterly impact reports, providing data on the number of products purchased and distributed and the number of persons served. This data, which includes the opportunity for any partner feedback, would be tracked and analyzed by the LA Program Coordinator and staff. Our team is committed to applying learnings from the field to improve programmatic strategy and strengthen systems. While we continue expanding access in Los Angeles, we look forward to LAccess to Pads offering MH education and product access to all Angelenos.