Subject: Support for HB 29 - Ensuring Free Access to Feminine Hygiene Products in Correctional Facilities
Dear [Legislator's Name],
We are a network of nonprofit, faith based, and reentry/criminal justice-focused organizations seeking your support for HB 29, a bill that addresses a pressing issue at the intersection of poverty, public health, hygiene, and basic human rights.
HB 29 will ensure free access to feminine hygiene products in correctional facilities. Currently, there is no mandate around hygiene products. Some Ohio correctional facilities require payment for hygiene products, while others provide only a limited amount or type of product, causing great hardship to incarcerated women. It is unacceptable that those who menstruate should face additional health and financial burdens while incarcerated, especially as inflation has driven up the costs of items available in the commissary. This issue ensures we treat all with dignity, regardless of their circumstances
Ohio's 2024-2025 fiscal budget designated $5 million in funding for period products and dispensers. This funding requirement mandates that every school that enrolls girls in grades 6-12 provide free period products to their students. This bi-partisan initiative recognizes the importance of menstrual hygiene as a fundamental aspect of public health, equal access to education, and human dignity for Ohio's youth. Women in prison deserve these same provisions.
Providing access to feminine hygiene products is not only an issue of human rights but a matter of hygiene and public health especially critical to women living in shared housing with limited resources. We are ready to work alongside you to ensure that this bill becomes law to support the thousands of incarcerated women in our state.
We look forward to your support for HB 29 and urge your leadership to make this a priority bill in this General Assembly. If you have any questions or require additional information, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Sincerely,
Wendy Tarr
Executive Director,
Accompanying Returning Citizens With Hope (ARCH)
wtarr@archreentry.com
614-512-7106
