St. Louis Area Diaper Bank – Meeting Women’s Unique Needs

The name “YouthBridge Community Foundation of Greater St. Louis” conveys a commitment to youth. This commitment extends to supporting mothers, and to women in general. It is fitting to highlight an agency devoted to meeting hygiene needs for women and girls during March, National Women’s History Month.

Statistics, as well as common sense, tell us that families are more likely to succeed when basic needs have been met. This premise spurred YouthBridge and its fundholders to rally around the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank through fiscal sponsorship years ago and through funding support. The St. Louis Area Diaper Bank was founded in 2014 to meet diaper needs for families in the St. Louis community. Four years later the organization’s founder read a university study about local “period poverty” that exposed how the lack of access to supplies for monthly periods affected education, self-esteem, and mental health in women and especially in teenage girls.

The Diaper Bank founder quickly recognized that lack of diapers and period supplies had similar causes and consequences. In addition to mental health issues, unsanitary substitutions can affect physical health. This realization led to the natural expansion of the diaper program to include necessary monthly supplies. In 2020, the Diaper Bank began providing “Period Kits” to be distributed by their partners. The kits consist of 25 items, along with an educational flyer and note of encouragement. The latter two are important pieces that address the emotional aspect of the situation, especially valuable for teens.

According to Muriel Smith, Executive Director of the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank, “There has long been a stigma associated with having a period, especially in communities of color. Meeting the physical need for supplies, while also providing education and advocacy, has been rewarding and successful.” Muriel relayed the fact that their distribution partners report their clients’ emotional health and their ability to attend school has increased due to the program. The distribution of approximately 1.5 million period supplies since the program’s inception contributes to the Diaper Bank’s vision that “everyone has the basic hygiene products needed to live healthy, dignified, and empowered lives.”

YouthBridge has supported the Diaper Bank for several years, including serving as a fiscal sponsor early in the organization’s history and later by awarding a Heritage Grant. The Diaper Bank has also received multiple grants from fundholders facilitated by YouthBridge. Muriel expressed gratitude for YouthBridge grant support and the connections that led to additional funding, but explained that the training, leadership resources, and mentorship provided by YouthBridge have been equally valuable. She is thankful for the YouthBridge resources available to her and to her staff, and appreciative of the foundation’s shared commitment to women in the St. Louis area during Women’s History Month and beyond.