Help School-Home Support provide personal hygiene products to vulnerable families in need
News article from May 6, 2021
School-Home Support is raising money to provide personal hygiene products to vulnerable children in need.
Why is this needed?
The idea came from a conversation one School-Home Support staff member had with a headteacher, who had noticed that due to the rising children poverty levels in the UK, children were coming into school after lockdown without socks, and sometimes underwear. We then went on to identify over 700 children who do not have access to personal hygiene products – ranging from shower gels to tampons.
Many children are going to school without having a shower, or without access to clean clothes or personal care and hygiene items. In addition, period poverty affects girls from poorer families, often leaving girls feeling they have no option but to miss school every month.
This has been compounded by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the charity Bloody Good Period, they have supplied six times the amount of products they were supplying before the pandemic.
With School-Home Support seeing a 460% increase in interventions around food and money, we too have seen that the toll of the pandemic is stretching far and wide – and affecting personal health and hygiene. Without these items, children are struggling to focus on their learning.
Lindsey’s family is one of the families in need
Lindsey and her family are one of those we have identified who could benefit from personal hygiene products. Lindsey’s daughter Alexa, who is currently in Reception, kept coming into school in soiled clothes.
The family needed help. They struggled financially to even afford to eat and the children did not have many clothes. In addition they didn’t have a washing machine. The children were sleeping on the floor.
We first of all helped the family by focusing on the immediate things – helping them to find food through a food bank, an affordable washing machine, as well as applying to the baby bank to get beds for the children. We also bought extra clothes for Alexa and her siblings.
In addition we looked at building the family’s resilience. We did this through referring them to our partner organisation Income Max – which will be able to help the family get the benefits they are entitled to.
We are still working with Lindsey’s family, and things have started to improve. They would benefit enormously from getting personal hygiene products.
How can you help?
By donating to our personal hygiene product campaign, your generous gift will allow our Practitioners to purchase products such as sanitary items, face masks, shampoo, body wash, deodorant, socks and underwear for students who we have identified as most in need. Our Practitioners have trusting relationships with these families and so are able to identify and purchase exactly what they need.
Donate now to help children feel comfortable and confident in school, ready to learn.