Resources

Further Reading

Becoming an expert on a topic through research is crucial. We firmly believe that understanding the issues is key in building a larger movement. If you wish to gain a deeper understanding on the subject of hygiene poverty, we suggest the following readings:

TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) 

"The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is a federal program that helps supplement the diets of low-income Americans by providing them with emergency food assistance at no cost. USDA provides 100% American-grown USDA and administrative funds to states to operate TEFAP.” U.S. Department of Agriculture 

Where to find help in Colorado? 

Period poverty, diaper need, and hygiene poverty are intertwined with food insecurity. Donations For Dignity understands that it can be overwhelming to find the various necessities particularly during difficult times. These resources and links are for programs that are federally funded, state funded or through partner agencies within Colorado.

Food Assistance Programs

Where can I find food in Colorado? Hunger Free Colorado provides a Food Resource Map, in-person food services, including sites that serve hot meals, boxes of food, food pantries, farmers markets, holiday meals, soup kitchens, and older adult congregate meals.

Hunger Free Colorado also has a food resource hotline. It is toll-free, statewide and bilingual: 1-855-855-4626

SNAP

Am I eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)?

I have questions about my Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT). Find answers about EBT here 

WIC

Am I eligible for WIC?

Where can I apply for WIC?

How can I find a WIC office in Colorado?

TEFAP

Am I eligible for the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)?

For more information about food assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), SNAP-Ed, Food Distribution Programs, and the Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) programs, check out The Colorado Department of Human Services webpage.

For more information on Colorado emergency food assistance programs, including the Commodity Supplemental Food Program and The Emergency Food Assistance Program, visit the Colorado Department of Human Services Food Distribution Programs webpage.

For more information on food support programs for qualifying Coloradans age 60+ to help keep healthy food staples in their kitchen, visit Commodity Supplemental Food Program webpage and the Everyday Eats webpage where participants can pick up a monthly package of cereal, canned good and dairy with plenty of low-sodium, diabetic-friendly options to make nutritious meals.

Visit The Colorado Department of Human Services for more information about food assistance programs and other government programs.

Health and Wellness

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment offers prevention and wellness contacts, including health access, injury, suicide prevention, chronic disease, women’s health, immunization, infant, babies, and child health. Visit The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Prevention and Wellness Contact for more information. 

The Colorado Department of Human Services helps ensure Coloradans have what they need to live a stable life now and in the future. We can help your family consistently put food on the table, heat your home, find livable-wage work, and afford basic necessities like rent, utilities, milk and diapers. If you need assistance in any of these areas, check out our benefits programs below.

Housing and Utilities Assistance

For more information on energy assistance, check out The Colorado Low-Energy Assistance Program (LEAP).

The Colorado Department of Human Services webpage offers more information on cash assistance programs to help eligible families and individuals with very low incomes become self-sufficient.

Visit The Colorado Department of Human Services Disability Determination Services (DDS) website to learn about the state agency that makes disability decisions for the federal Social Security program.

To learn more about rapid re-housing prevention, find the office of rental assistance, foreclosures, homeless initiatives and other programs to help those who are facing housing insecurities, visit The Colorado Department of Local Affairs.

The Office of Homeless Youth Services (OHYS) facilitates the Advisory Council for Homeless Youth Services, Youth Supplemental Survey (in conjunction with the Continuum of Care Regions), providing technical assistance and coordination of stakeholders and resources for infrastructure regarding resources for youth experiencing homelessness. OHYS collaborates with leaders from state and local government, private nonprofit organizations, federal departments, homeless and formerly homeless youth to address local and state needs surrounding youth homelessness.

Colorado Public Radio published an article to find further resources around Colorado, that included:

Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Founded in 1984, the group works to provide and connect families and individuals with help finding housing, healthcare and some other needs. Visit here for more information.

The Colorado Safe Parking Initiative. The parking initiative runs several sites mostly in the Denver area where people can park and sleep safely overnight in their cars. Anyone seeking to stay at one of the Colorado Safe Parking Initiative's sites must have a permit. Apply at ColoSafeParking.org.

Part of The Joseph Center in Grand Junction, this program works to find housing for women in Mesa County who are 50 years and older. The program can house up to five people at a time to help them find housing. Visit here for more information.

The Joseph Center also provides other services, including a day shelter and some food services. Click here for more information.

Lake County Build A Generation. The nonprofit is one that helped a group of mobile home residents in Leadville organize to purchase their homes from their landlord. The group works to educate and organize residents around a number of issues, including housing and food access. Click here for more information.

United for a New Economy (UNE). UNE works primarily in Aurora, Westminster, and Commerce City. Recently, they have been working with immigrant residents and families to identify rental assistance programs and apply for them. Visit their website for more information. 

The Golden Girls Project, Grand Junction. Created by The Joseph Center in 2020, the Golden Girls Project provides transitional housing for middle aged to elderly women 50 years and older. Visit their Golden Girls Project for more information.

Other Public Resources:

Colorado emergency rental assistance program

Colorado emergency mortgage assistance program

Colorado Division of Housing

Denver rent and utility assistance program

Denver's Housing and Homelessness Guide

Legal assistance for fighting an eviction or foreclosure in Denver 

Colorado Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (home heating cost assistance)

For more information about heat and other government programs, visit The Colorado Department of Human Services webpage.

Employment Assistance

The Colorado Department of Human Services oversees employment assistance programs to help individuals obtain training and employment to become self-sufficient. Visit The Colorado Department of Human Services Employment Assistance for more information.

Recommended Literature on Hygiene and Period Product Poverty

• Periods Gone Public: Taking a Stand For Menstrual Equity by Jennifer Weiss-Wolf

• Period, End of Sentence by Anita Diamant

• Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation by Elissa Stein and Susan Kim

• Period. It’s About Bloody Time by Emma Barnett

• Are You There G-d? It’s Me Margaret by Judy Blume

• Vagina Problems: Endometriosis, Painful Sex and Other Taboo Topics by Lara Parker

• The Curse: A Cultural History of Menstruation by Janice Delaney

• The Curse: Confronting the Last Unmentionable Taboo: Menstruation by Karen Houppert

• Period Power: A Manifesto for the Menstrual Movement by Nadya Okamoto

• New Blood: Third-Wave Feminism and the Politics of Menstruation by Chris Babal

• It’s Only Blood: Shattering the Taboo of Menstruation by Anna Dahlqvist

Aunt Flow Reading Recommendations For Parents, Guardians and Caregivers

• Celebrate Your Body 2: The Ultimate Puberty Book for Preteen and Teen Girls, by

  Dr. Lisa Klein & Dr. Carrie Leff

• Welcome to your Period!, by Yumi Stynes & Dr. Melissa Kang

• It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex and Sexual Health, by Robie H Harris and Michael Emberley

• Girl Puberty: How to Talk about Puberty and Sex with your Tween Girl, by Cath Hankanson

• Girl to Girl: Honest Talk about Growing Up and Your Changing Body, by Sarah O’Leary Burningham

• The Period Book. A Girls Guide to Growing Up, by Karen Gravelle

• The Care & Keeping of You.

• The Body Book for Older Girls 2, by Dr. Cara Natterson

Journal Peer-Reviewed Articles:

• Unmet Menstrual Hygiene Needs Among Low-Income Women

• Period Poverty and Mental Health Implications Among College-Aged Women in the United States

• Period Poverty: The Perceptions and Experiences of Impoverished Women Living in an Inner-City Area of Northwest England

• Period Poverty and Promoting Menstrual Equity

• Period Poverty and Menstrual Belonging: A Matter of Climate Justice

• Diaper Need is Associated with the Risk for Food Insecurity in a Statewide Sample of Participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

• Diaper Need is Associated with Pediatric Care Use: An Analysis of a Nationally Representative Sample of Parents of Young Children

Other Period Poverty Articles/Resources:

• Period Poverty: A Public Health Crisis

• Period Poverty: The Public Health Crisis We Don’t Talk About

• Programs Across Colorado Aim to End Period Poverty

• Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment: Menstrual Hygiene Products Accessibility Grant Program ‘21-’22

• Glossary of Terms for the Menstrual Movement

• Menstrual Health: Taking Action Against Period Poverty

Diaper Need Resources

• Diaper Need is Associated with the Risk for Food Insecurity in a Statewide Sample of Participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

• End Diaper Need & Period Poverty

• H.R. 259, End Diaper Need Act (2021)

• Diaper Need and Its Impacts on Child Health

• About Diaper Need: The Cornerstone Resource Center

Hygiene Poverty Resources

• America's Unspoken Hygiene Crisis

• What is hygiene poverty?