New York City Will Provide Free Tampons and Pads to Schools, Shelters and Jails

Tampons aren’t cheap. A box of 36 tampons can cost nearly ten dollars, which isn’t a small chunk of change to dish out for a necessity equivalent to toilet paper.

But on Tuesday New York City came to the rescue for some of those destined for the monthly cycle. New York passed the first legislative package in the United States that gives free pads and tampons to public schools, homeless shelters and jails, according to a city press release.

The legislation passed with a unanimous vote of 49-0, and now the bill is waiting to be signed into law by Mayor Bill de Blasio, which is expected to happen within the month, according to the Huffington Post.

City Council member Julissa Ferreras-Copeland was at the forefront of this legislation. Earlier this year she led a pilot program that gave free tampons and pads to 25 public schools in Queens and the Bronx. Now, with the recent bill, all public school students from the sixth to the twelfth grade will have access to free hygiene products, according to the press release.

"I am so proud that the Council will pass three pieces of sensible yet groundbreaking legislation which will guarantee access to menstrual hygiene products to tens of thousands of New Yorkers. For students who will no longer miss class because they do not have a pad or tampon to mothers at shelters and women in prison who will have access to these critical yet often overlooked products, this package makes our City a more fair place," Ferreras-Copeland stated in the press release.

New York City Department of Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks told Patch he supports the legislation.

"We are proud to be part of this Administration's commitment to advancing gender equity, including increasing access to basic feminine hygiene products for New Yorkers,” he said. “This legislation expands on and enshrines into law Department of Social Services' existing policies to respect the dignity of all women, girls, transgender men, intersex and gender non-conforming New Yorkers living in shelter and provide the resources and support they need."

Dispensaries will be placed in 800 school bathrooms, reaching 300,000 students, and costing an initial $3.7 million, and $1.9 million in years to follow.

The Department of Citywide Administrative Services will provide homeless shelters with 2 million tampons and 3.5 million pads annually, totally $540,000.

Prisons will no longer limit the number of pads given to women, and now female inmates will have the choice to choose between pads and tampons, according to the Cut. Female inmates who prefer to use anything other than generic pads currently must buy them in the commissary.

Christine Quinn, the president and CEO for Win, a New York City-based homeless shelter for women and children, said the legislation will ease the burden of feminine hygiene expenses for the underprivileged.

"The cost of feminine hygiene products is a burden for Win clients, and for all women in our city who can least afford them," Quinn said. "Thanks to councilwoman Ferreras-Copeland and the rest of the city council, this bill is a game changer for our facilities. Instead of relying on volunteer drives, we can now guarantee all of our clients the products they need. These products are not a luxury – they are a necessity."

This legislation comes after last month’s vote by state lawmakers to eliminate sales tax on feminine hygiene products, making New York the sixth state to do so, according to The Washington Post.

Image via Wikimedia Commons.