There's a bill in the Arizona Legislature that addresses period poverty, which is having insufficient or limited menstrual products or education. The bill’s brainchild is a local high school student.
Meet Ava Sharett. "The goal of the bill is to help women and girls, as well as menstruators, who are experiencing period poverty, have access to convenient and free pads, tampons and other feminine hygiene items," she said.
Sharett, a senior at Xavier College Prep, started working on the bill as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award — one of the organization's highest honors.
Along the way, she met Sen. Mitzi Epstein. "She advised me to do a bill and I just started working on that. And then I reached out to other girls who had done something very similar in Massachusetts and they helped me. And then, again, went back to Senator Epstein, gave her the rough draft and then we finalized everything from there," Sharett said.
If the bill becomes law, it would mean feminine hygiene products would be available at libraries, state parks, schools and emergency shelters to name a few.
