The City of Terrace is working to tackle period poverty and social stigma by providing free period products in municipal bathrooms. 

Mayor Carol Leclerc originally brought up the idea in a June 2021 council meeting which was met with great support. Director of Leisure Services Tara Irwin was then instructed to research the costs of this initiative. 

Irwin talked to United Way British Columbia about their Period Promise research project and looked at examples of other communities starting similar initiatives. Research from the Period Promise Project found that 51 per cent of their respondents struggled with access to period products which caused a feeling of isolation, often missing school, work, and social events. 

With this information, Irwin proposed a six month pilot project to work out any flaws that may come, the $8,000 cost of the project was added to the 2022 budget to be funded by surplus. 

A pilot project was proposed because free period product and condom dispensers had to be removed from the Sportsplex twelve years ago due to vandalism and low usage. 

Eight bathrooms across six different municipal buildings now hold either a dispenser or a container of period products, three of those bathrooms are gender neutral. 

Community response has been positive, according to Irwin, although suggestions have been made to have more bathrooms offer products for people who do not identify as a woman but still get periods. 

Information and suggestions from the pilot project will be taken into consideration so that improvements can be made to increase accessibility to these vital products.

Listen to the full radio story with Tara Irwin below: