As the cost of living continues to rise and Arizona continues to tax menstrual products as luxury goods, one Tempe nonprofit is preparing to hold another of what they call a "period packing party" Friday, April 25, to assemble bags of menstrual supplies for women experiencing homelessness or poverty.
“It's a direct correlation from what they are doing to– immediately going to help women,” said Kay Wright, Women4Women Tempe’s co-founder and president. “And every woman, honestly, every woman can put herself in that position of starting your period, not having any pads or tampons, ‘cause it's happened to all of us.”
Wright said that when volunteers get together to pack brown paper bags with dozens upon hundreds of pads, tampons and sanitary wipes, “There's always a lot of laughter because people start talking about their first periods and how awful it was and just — you know, it’s just fun.”
With Arizona still taxing menstrual products as luxury items even as they continue getting pricier, Wright said, support from businesses like Phillips Law Firm, which help provide the products themselves, is even more crucial.
But events like this help women get what they need, she added, and push back on period stigma.
“It's good to have everybody,” said Wright. “It's like, it's not a woman thing, it's a human thing. And it's so natural and normal.”
Wright attends every party she can and said packing each bag is still deeply rewarding because it makes an immediate, tangible difference for whoever receives one.
