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21 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,June 18,2020 insidehalton.com AMAZED at Your Generosity! In these trying times we have just two words for our amazing community: Thank you! We have been blessed to witness first hand our community 'Love their Neighbour' in practical and tangible ways. Here are some positive highlights: ▪ Over the last 3 months, KSM has received more food donations and have been able to distribute more food then we have in any previous 3-month time frame. ▪ We have received donations from individuals, corporations and foundations which has made it possible for us to continue operating. ▪ We have received help from regular and new volunteers who were willing to help in spite of the health risks, which has made it possible for us to get our food market ready and meals prepared six days each week. As you can see in the image, the need in our community has grown significantly over the past 7 weeks. We anticipate this need to grow as the pandemic continues and all the help from our community is so appreciated. Thank you for your generosity and faithful support. If you would like to donate or learn more about Kerr Street Mission please visit kerrstreet.com KSM. 485 Kerr Street, Oakville. 905-845-7485. Charitable Reg. No. 897106845RR0001 It can be an awkward situation for a young wom- an. The Halton Catholic District School Board unanimously passed a mo- tion that will move free menstrual products out from behind the office desk and into more discrete ar- eas in student washrooms in all elementary and sec- ondary schools by the be- ginning of the 2020 to 2021 school year. The goal is to reduce the stigma and shame many women feel surrounding menstrual health and self-care. Dylex Saun, the student trustee who put forth the motion, said when you talk to students about this you hear that a lack of access can create a stressful situa- tion. "You hear 'I didn't know where to go to find these products.' Even if they were available in the office areas they found it really uncomfortable getting them in the office asking someone to actually get these products in the first place. And, in the times when they most need them they frankly don't have time," said Suan. According to the Always Confidence and Puberty Survey one in seven girls in Canada have either left school or missed school en- tirely because they did not have access to period prod- ucts. There's been a growing movement to address what's come to be known as 'period poverty' - the lack of access to feminine hygiene products as a result of fi- nancial hardship. In 2019, the Toronto School Board moved to provide free men- strual products for all stu- dents who need them. By putting pads and tampons in washroom dis- pensers the board hopes students wouldn't be de- prived of the products they need. Suan said all the motion does is treat menstrual products the same way they currently treat toilet paper and soap. "I'm a male I don't expe- rience these things on a daily basis, but I guess when you hear a lot of the struggles it made me want to act. Quite frankly when you talk about access to menstrual products it's no different than toilet paper. It's no different than say soap. Everything was on the same level. We don't ex- pect students to bring their own toilet paper," said Suan. "Their part of that whole idea of taking care of yourself. I didn't really see any difference." HALTON CATHOLIC STUDENT TAKES ON 'PERIOD POVERTY' Student trustee Dylex Suan successfully got a motion passed that will now see free tampons and pads offered at Halton Catholic schools. Graham Paine/Torstar ROLAND CILLIERS rcilliers@metroland.com NEWS "We don't expect students to bring their own toilet paper," - Dylex Saun