Brittany Averette, executive director of Sylvia’s Sisters, helps unload a shipment of nearly 200,000 period products that the nonprofit received in May. (Photo by Jay Paul)
According to a 2019 survey in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, nearly two-thirds of women over 18 nationwide were unable to afford needed menstrual hygiene supplies. It’s one aspect of a health issue that has received more attention in recent years: period poverty.
Around 300,000 women ages 12 to 44 in Virginia receive health coverage through Medicaid or another government assistance plan, according to the Alliance for Period Supplies, and are therefore at risk of experiencing period poverty at some point in their lives. The nonprofit Sylvia’s Sisters fills that gap in access throughout Central Virginia, distributing free period products to those who need them.
In late May, Sylvia’s Sisters secured a contribution from manufacturer Kotex of nearly 200,000 sanitary products to supply schools, clinics, youth programs and shelters across the region. This gift is the organization’s largest donation of tampons and pads to date. “This is more than a shipment of products. It’s an opportunity to change outcomes,” says Brittany Averette, executive director of Sylvia’s Sisters.
Providing no-cost products is an effort to create what health experts call period equity, which strives to reduce the barriers that menstruation can pose, including expense and access. Improving period equity reduces menstruation-related health risks and increases school attendance in young adults.
Based in Chesterfield County, Sylvia’s Sisters began its efforts in 2014 by making reusable pads for young girls in Uganda. Founder Jennifer Taylor named the nonprofit after Sylvia Namukasa, a Uganda-based community activist who inspired the work and helped distribute the pads.
Not long after the program began, the group discovered there was a need for products locally. Staff at Manchester Middle School in Chesterfield reached out for help in getting period supplies to their students. Sylvia’s Sisters expanded to more local schools, then 18 public school districts and finally other organizations including women’s shelters, substance use recovery programs, food pantries and community health clinics.
These days, Sylvia’s Sisters distributes half a million products per year. They provide disposable items such as tampons and pads, as well as reusable period underwear and leggings.
Kotex reached out to the organization earlier this year to see whether they had the capacity to accept a large donation. Averette says they responded the same day, and the shipment of 197,168 products arrived in a couple of weeks. The donations are expected to serve up to 8,000 people in the region and allow the nonprofit to expand its reach to organizations on the waitlist.
Dr. Melissa Viray, acting health director of the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts, says navigating menstrual periods is made more difficult nationwide by the systemic factors that prevent equitable healthcare. “The same social determinants that impact all of the other health factors, whether it be housing stability, income stability or access to healthcare, lead to inequity in our communities of color and other communities impacted by structural factors,” she says.
Viray recommends that all women and people with a uterus receive care from a health provider. RHHD’s website includes a list of local primary care options for patients with Medicaid, Medicare or who are uninsured.
“When students miss school or adults miss work because they don’t have basic supplies, the consequences add up quickly,” Averette says. “This donation helps remove that barrier for thousands of women and girls in our community.”
