Patricia speaks of the humiliation and stress she'd experience on a monthly basis: "When I was homeless and I used to have my period, I used to end up going to a public toilet," she said. "You'd end up taking a cloth or whatever ... and using that. I used to feel very depressed ... Why does a woman have to rip up a cloth, put between her to protect herself from bleeding?"

Unfortunately, feminine hygiene products are rarely donated by organisations, denying women on the streets the simple 'luxury' of pads and tampons. They are expensive to procure and the fact that menstruation is a taboo topic to begin with means that the people who are able help aren't aware of the extent of the problem.

A lack of safe and hygienic public showers compounds the issue and can lead to infections – a fact many homeless women feel resigned to accept. The basic act of staying clean – which is a major part of feeling human when struggling with homelessness – becomes a draining and at times impossible task.

Want to show your support? Sign the campaign's Change.org petition here. (They've already garnered over 87,000 signatures, but it will take closer to 150,000 for the government to sit up and listen.) #TheHomelessPeriod also encourages the public to donate sanitary pads and tampons to shelters directly – something to bear in mind when next bundling up your clothes for charity.