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Created by a Queen’s University student, Bleed the North provides menstrual products to people in need

What started out last March as a small project created during lockdown has grown exponentially into a unique project called Bleed the North, which is committed to ending period poverty and stigma by providing menstrual products to people in need across Ontario.

President, founder, and first year Queen’s University student Isabela Rittinger started the project on her own and was soon joined by a team of other like-minded individuals. They created the group to educate the public on the dangers of period poverty, the inability to afford pads and/or tampons, and work to promote menstrual legislation in Canadian politics.

One in three people have issues accessing menstrual products.

“Because of the stockpiling of period products in grocery stores during that time, the widespread effects of period poverty for individuals across Ontario was exacerbated by pandemic induced panic-buying, which further motivated me to push for better access to period products,” Rittinger says. “We are also not framing this as a female issue. A lot of people in trans community also menstruate. We don’t attach a gender to it.”

The work of Bleed the North is divided into three areas: advocacy, service, and education. The Advocacy Team works to create systemic change through policy and legislation, the Service Team works with shelters and organizations to provide them with period products, as well as to deliver period packs to individuals who are in need and experiencing period poverty, and the Education Team strives to educate society about menstruation, period poverty, period stigma, and many more topics surrounding menstrual equity.

“National Period Day (November 7) was a real turning point for us,” Rittinger says. “We spent time that day contacting government officials and speaking with the media. It was a chance for our group to really go public with the work we are doing.”

The group, now numbering 80 people, has since collected more than 20,000 which will be made into packs, and distributed more than 15,500 period products, in kits of 11 pads and seven tampons, enough to cover a typical menstrual cycle. Their current goal is to get free products in all schools across Ontario, address period stigma, and increase their memberships numbers, all while raising critical funds to purchase products.

Anyone who requires this support or is interested in joining the group is encouraged to visit the Bleed the North website.