Films, legislative advocacy and more: Period Poverty Awareness Week (May 12 - 18, 2025) raises issue, inspires action

A national, virtual screening of That’s On Period will be held Tuesday, May 13 at 3 p.m. EDT.

NEW HAVEN, CT, UNITED STATES, May 12, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Alliance for Period Supplies will sponsor a film screening and help activists connect with members of Congress during Period Poverty Awareness Week (May 12 - 18, 2025) to create support for the one in three low-wage-earning women in the U.S. who miss work, school, or other activities because they cannot afford menstrual products.

A national, virtual screening of That’s On Period will be held Tuesday, May 13 at 3 p.m. EDT. A question-and-answer session will follow with director Nishtha Shanti; the subject of the documentary, Chantal Allison-Konteh, founder of Her Village, Inc.; Marcia Belsky, comedian, writer, and musician; and Jennifer Gaines, manager of national engagement at the Alliance for Period Supplies.

The film follows Allison-Konteh as she runs the New York City-based nonprofit period supply bank that she founded. It is an inspiring story of a woman who donates her time, intelligence, and energy to a cause – while also earning a living and raising children with her husband. Register to join the event online here.

The documentary shines a light on period poverty, often presumed to exist solely in the global south. U by Kotex^® research shows that 2 in 5 people in the U.S. struggle to obtain the supplies they need to manage their periods.

“I've always been drawn to issues of women and gender minorities as a journalist and have done a lot of work on period poverty in India. When I landed in the United States and was looking at topics that spoke to me, I stumbled upon some research which showed the depth of the problem in New York - and I was a little surprised that it's also a problem in what is considered the capital city of the world, which is why I knew I wanted to make a film to highlight this issue,” said Shanti, who studied documentary filmmaking at Columbia School of Journalism. She made the film with Carla Mende, a German journalist studying at Columbia.

When she met Allison-Konteh, Shanti realized that the film would take on an additional dimension. “Chantal's story has allowed this film to be about more than just period poverty - but also about the motivation, strength and resilience of grassroots workers, who give back to their community irrespective of the personal challenges and difficulties of philanthropy,” Shanti said.

The Alliance for Period Supplies is part of a menstrual movement drawing attention to period poverty – and it’s working. Americans are becoming increasingly aware of this problem. Alliance for Period Supplies' polling shows that 76% of Americans want menstrual products supplied for free in public schools.

The grassroots, independent allied programs that distribute period supplies and make up the Alliance will be soliciting Period Poverty Awareness Week proclamations from their elected officials, hosting media events and panels, and opening their warehouses for tours during the week. The Alliance for Period Supplies is organizing a virtual lobby day for its members to contact Congress on period poverty.

The group supports the Menstrual Equity for All Act, which is expected to be reintroduced in the U.S. Congress during Period Poverty Awareness Week. The legislation would increase access to menstrual products through a number of measures, including Medicaid coverage and sales tax reforms.

To learn more about Period Poverty Awareness Week and events happening around the country, visit allianceforperiodsupplies.org.

About the Alliance for Period Supplies:
The Alliance for Period Supplies leads a national network of more than 140 independent, community-based nonprofits working to end period poverty in the U.S. It was founded in 2018, as a program of the National Diaper Bank Network, and with the support of founding sponsor U by Kotex^®.

Troy Moore
National Diaper Bank Network | Alliance for Period Supplies
troy@diaperbanknetwork.org
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