THERE is still time to help end period poverty in Bendigo.
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Share the Dignity's annual August Dignity Drive will draw to a close on Tuesday, but organisers say there are still period products that they need.
"We have received 986 donations," Lauren Read, the regional leader for the Bendigo area, said. "The total products requested in the Bendigo region is 1445.
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"Although we have some products in stock that will help make up these numbers, we are in desperate need of maternity pads.
"These are an absolute necessity for new mums and will go to local service providers who do amazing work looking after vulnerable young families in our community."
Ms Read said people could donate through the collection boxes at Woolworths stores around Bendigo.
The collection boxes will remain on site until Tuesday.
"The Bendigo community is an incredibly kind and generous one, and we are fortunate enough to receive wonderful local support during our campaigns," Ms Read said.
"Even through pandemics and lockdowns, people are still giving, and we are so grateful for that."
Along with the collection drive, Share the Dignity has also revealed the findings of its Period Pride survey.
From more than 125,000 responses, the service found one in five people have had to improvise period products at some point - meaning they've had to resort to items like socks or toilet paper to manage their period.
Almost 50 per cent of people have also used a period product for longer than medically advised because they couldn't afford more products.
"This is not an issue happening somewhere else in the world," Ms Read said.
"In fact, the majority of those that responded to the survey were women living in Victoria, aged between 32 to 40. This means that period poverty is a very real issue in Bendigo.
"It's surprising how period poverty doesn't look how you expect it to look and it impacts people that you don't think it would."
Ms Read said the COVID-19 pandemic had only exasperated those numbers.
"We have learned from local service providers that they have seen a significant increase in calls for help from the Bendigo community," she said.
"Those calls may be from women and children experiencing domestic violence, people facing financial hardship due to loss of income, or people needing housing assistance.
"We know the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have caused huge amounts of emotional, mental and sometimes financial stress for people.
"So although incredibly concerning, these comments aren't surprising, which is why we are asking the public to help our vulnerable community members.
"Periods don't stop for pandemics."
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