These Graphic Designers Are Making Helping Homeless Women Incredibly Simple

There were 63,498 homeless people in New York City alone reported last December. The numbers showed that the amount of New Yorkers sleeping each night in municipal shelters is 76 percent higher than it was 10 years ago—and this doesn’t even account for people who are sleeping unsheltered.

This means shelters are more crowded and resources are limited. One of the most limited resources: menstrual products for women. In fact, menstrual products are some of the least donated items in shelters, and if they have them at all, they're in short supply because of the cost.

Erin Da Eun Song, a graphic designer in New York City, became aware of just how difficult it was for homeless women to get access to menstrual products during their periods after speaking to her one of her friends who she met as a student at Savannah College of Art and Design.

Initially, they tested the process by putting up posters in the public bathrooms at transportation hubs like Penn Station and Grand Central Station. Within a few hours, the original products they stocked had been taken, and new pads and tampons were left in their place.

The Perigives founders point out that most people they spoke to had not thought about the issue of lack of menstrual products for homeless women and wanted to help. This means you have the power to raise awareness about this issue by telling others about this initiative.