CHOP's Homeless Health Initiative (HHI) supports families in local shelters with free healthcare and advocacy. In 2020, a doctor-in-training from CHOP who was volunteering at one of these shelters met a teen who was missing school because she didn’t have access to period products. This encounter helped shine a light on a serious issue known as "period poverty.”

It sparked the creation of the Period Project, a team effort to ensure consistent access to essential menstrual supplies. Learn More

Period poverty can prevent people from attending school, work or job interviews. It can also lead to psychological stress, including shame and depression, and health issues like urinary or reproductive infections — especially for those in shelters.

The Period Project, created by CHOP trainees, social workers, volunteers and HHI leaders with support from a CHOP Cares Community Grant, provides “period packs” with supplies for a full cycle, promoting health, dignity and opportunity.

When the Period Project first started in December 2020, 36 period packs were put together in a resident’s living room and given out at one shelter.

Now, the program delivers more than 450 period packs each month to 18 housing sites. The sites include shelters for families, survivors of domestic violence, and teens and adolescents across Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties, as well as New Jersey.

The initiative has provided supplies for more than 10,000 periods. In a recent survey, 96% of participants said the packs help them attend school, work or job interviews.

“Most shelter residents arrive literally with just the clothes on their back and no means of income. Therefore, when their menstrual [cycle] comes on, they are in need of products. Having products on hand eliminates any shame or stigmas one may feel.”

— Residential services manager at HHI partner shelter

The Period Project relies on monetary donations, period product drives and in-kind donations to stay stocked and sustainable. Teams across CHOP and external partners support the effort by collecting donations and assembling kits at monthly volunteer events.

The project has also received support from the CHOP Foundation’s Helping Hands Community Care Challenge, with corporate volunteers joining in. These changemakers show how small actions can fight big inequities.

CHOP teams are also expanding education and advocacy around menstrual health. With support from the Office of Community Impact, Nurse Practitioner Bobbie Monaco, MSN, CRNP, created Know Your Flow, a video series teaching youth about periods, puberty, sustainable products and reproductive health. The videos are used in clinics, shelters and schools — and they’re available for anyone to watch, share as a resource, and use in their own programs and classrooms.

In addition, Dr. Shelby Davies and PolicyLab lead efforts to promote equitable access to menstrual health care and products, working to reduce period poverty and ensure all youth have the resources and education they need.