Since the pandemic took hold across the country, we at Period Power have done everything possible to help alleviate the issues we have seen as they have arisen.
We have always responded to need but we have seen a new level of need since Covid-19. Need to respond not only to the organisations we have always helped, but to individuals who have contacted us or been referred to us. In general these are families or individuals who have been unable to gain necessities to allow them to live as normal a life as possible. This could be the new mum who had an emergency c-section and was allowed home but had no nappies for a premature baby, no baby wipes and no paracetamol. Luckily, we were able to step in and source all the items , with some difficulty due to the panic buying during the early stages of the pandemic. Likewise, this could be the mum who couldn’t get the incontinence team to deliver incontinence pads for her 13 year old daughter because even they couldn’t source them. Luckily, we were able to source some suitable pants to hopefully see her through until the local incontinence team were able to deliver her supplies. Then there is the young couple left waiting for their Universal Credit application to be sorted (they had received an advance but used it for rent/council tax and utilities). The young woman cried when she saw the box of goods we delivered which included toiletries, toilet rolls, cleaning products and some food. They were tears of relief because they knew that they could now eat and keep themselves and their home clean. No-one should ever be in that position and for us it can be heart breaking to see people who would normally manage their affairs suddenly finding themselves floundering.
We have also seen the gratitude from both hoteliers, who are housing some of our homeless residents, and from the homeless citizens also, when we have been able to offer them a range of items to help them adjust to temporary living “off the streets”. These items have included period products for the women and a full range of hygiene toiletries for all.
So how do people feel about the support we have been able to offer? Grateful is probably an understatement. Relieved is probably a more apt descriptor.