In the short-term the Gravenhurst Women’s Centre will continue to distribute free women’s care products, but the long-term future of the program is uncertain.
The centre recently received $2,000 through Gravenhurst’s Terance Haight Financial Assistance committee, which Martina Cole, who sits on the board of directions for Gravenhurst Women’s Centre, says will allow them to continue their popular program. She estimates the program will start “sometime in March” adding they have to wait for the grant money to come through before they can purchase the needed products.
The idea started last year. “We’re always asking what do you need and we found that a lot of women said they were in need of personal care products,” she explains. Cole says multiple pharmacies donated care products, which she says were gone within hours of the centre posting that they were available for free.
With the new funding, they will use it all to purchase more products. “It’s going to help for now, but there will always be a need going forward,” Cole says. The program relies heavily on the goodwill of the area’s pharmacies and people donating. Without that, Cole says the program isn’t possible because of how much it costs.
If you’re in need of care products, Cole says to call the centre or reach out through social media or their website.
“There’s such a stigma,” she says about women accessing these kinds of services. “We have to break down that stigma. Given the times that we’re in right now, it’s okay to ask for help.”