I completely agree. Period poverty can often be overlooked when thinking about the whole system, but for young women in care and leaving care who cannot access those products, it can be debilitating to their ability to access all the other services that we are talking about.
One care leaver in Doncaster said:
“Even though I’m not homeless now and I’m safe and secure, it worries me that that will be the next step. It has happened before and it could happen again”.
Another said:
“I don’t think anyone who hasn’t experienced homelessness could understand how scared I was.”
Many in temporary hotel accommodation and still under corporate parentship have to face the choice between affording food or washing their clothes. One said:
“The government are my corporate parents, and they don’t act like it. Would a parent allow a child to go a week without washing their clothes? Would a reasonable parent allow their child to be homeless or not eat?”
The answer to that is no.