The city will study the feasibility of providing free menstrual hygiene products to homeless residents in Hamilton.

The board of health endorsed the study after hearing from FemCare Community Health Initiative founder Halima Al-Hatimy, who spoke passionately about her past experience with homelessness and the challenge of managing menstruation without money to buy safe hygiene products.

The activist and health professional called access to products like pads and tampons a "basic health need" that society too often treats like a luxury. Al-Hatimy said women and girls who are unable to afford such items often resort to unhealthy alternatives, like newspaper or toilet paper, which can lead to infection.

Al-Hatimy's non-profit group works to get donated menstrual hygiene products to women and trans residents in need, but that effort is "not a sustainable solution," she said Monday.

She urged councillors to follow in the footsteps of New York, which decided two years ago to start providing free products like tampons to women in schools, shelters and prisons. Toronto recently declared a Menstrual Hygiene Day and is also studying the idea of paying for products for the homeless, with an estimated cost about $1.9 million annually.

Al-Hatimy suggested the city could co-ordinate with shelters and other local aid agencies to distribute free items.

Ward 1 Coun. Maureen Wilson praised the non-profit for helping battle "the stigma" around menstrual health. The board supported her motion to study a city-funded solution as well as talk with school boards about potential partnerships.

Al-Hatimy said she hopes to pitch the idea formally to school boards in the coming months.

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