A Period Should Never Be a Barrier to an Education

 

Period Poverty is keeping students out of school.

Schools on Native American Reservation cannot afford to provide products, and according to the 2021 Borgen Report, 97% of the population on the Pine Ridge Reservation live far below the U.S. Federal Poverty line. The vast majority of families cannot afford them either.  Without access to resources, students are often forced to stay home from school during their periods. This leads them to miss up to 30 days of school per school year. Students sometimes drop out of school completely. According to Unesco, this is not just a reservation problem, it is a global problem. Research is unavailable for many Native American Reservations, but nurses on the Pine Ridge Reservation report that 80% of students do not have access to period products.  

 

When a student finishes high school, they are less likely to experience child marriage, face domestic abuse, and suffer from long-term health complications. In turn, they are more likely to get an education and lift themselves out of poverty.

 

Project: Distributing Dignity is achieving more with our initiatives than ever before. As a 501 c3 tax deductible organization, we work on many exciting projects to help improve the lives of students, regardless of gender identity. We are working to eliminate period poverty on reservations in South Dakota, and soon Arizona. We as a team are very proud of the progress we continue to make. Learn more about what we do, who we help, and how we work every day to promote positive change.

 

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