Outreach to End Period Poverty in
St. Louis, the U.S. and beyond.
Dignity Period board member Anne Sebert Kuhlmann and her team at St. Louis University conducted a research study that uncovered unmet menstrual hygiene needs among low-income women in St. Louis.
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Nearly two thirds (64%) of women were unable to afford needed menstrual hygiene supplies during the previous year.
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One-fifth of women (21%) experienced this monthly.
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Many women make do with cloth, rags, tissues, or toilet paper; some even use children’s diapers or paper towels taken from public bathrooms.
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Nearly half of women (46%) could not afford to buy both food and menstrual hygiene products during the past year.
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There was no difference in menstrual hygiene needs by age.
Read more about the research.
Dignity Period works with collaborative agencies throughout the U.S. to provide sustainable, washable and reusable pad kits to those who menstruate.
These kits consist of four pads. With proper care, kits can provide up to
18 months of coverage.
To date, Dignity Period has provided over 4000 people with kits in communities throughout the U.S.
Collaborative Partnerships include:
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Assistance League St. Louis
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Daughters of Destiny
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Jennings High School
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Loving Bottoms Diaper Bank
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National Council of Jewish Women St. Louis
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New Madrid Family Resource Center
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Operation Food Search
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Raising Girls
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Renewing Dignity
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Saint Louis County Library
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Saint Louis Public Schools
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The Flow Initiative
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Washington University
This is not a luxury. It’s a need. It affects a woman’s sense of self, her sense of dignity and her ability to participate in life.
Anne Sebert Kuhlmann
Dignity Period Board Member
