Bathroom updates address period poverty as a public health issue

April 18, 2024 - The new 2nd floor restroom updates open to the public today! Visitors to the new bathrooms may notice some changes beyond the touchless fixtures and easier-to-clean surfaces. All restrooms now have Aunt Flow product dispensers.

Period poverty is a neglected public health issue and dispensers in public spaces are part of the solution, noted by the National Institutes of Health. Michigan is advancing on this issue, some major cities require all bathrooms to have period products available and in 2022 Michigan held its first Period Poverty Awareness Week (May 23-29).

Michele P. Howard, Library Director, is proud to be part of the public health education effort. "If a single dad with a teen daughter cannot afford to purchase period products, there are precious few resources in the community available to help him." Howard notes that dads in this situation may not have grown up in an environment where they learned how to be supportive when it comes to women's health issues. "As a community hub we are the perfect location to assist. By making period products accessible to everyone we hope to increase education and give men a better understanding of this public health issue. It's just part of life, something we all walk by in stores every day, but a real crisis if one is unable to afford them."

Nationally about 2 in 5 women struggle to afford period products. Learn more about period poverty:

• Alliance for Period Poverty
• Harvard Public Health
• UPenn Nursing 
• period.org
• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
• Journal of Global Health Reports