A new initiative this holiday season is aiming to bring purses filled with tampons, sanitary pads, toothbrushes and other hygienic items to at-risk and low-income women in Ottawa.

This December, the Purse Project has been gathering donated bags and satchels filled with hygiene products that will be distributed at local shelters and women's organizations.

"Often they have to choose between food and sanitary products. And every time, food and shelter win," said Heidi Danson, the project's co-founder.

More than 3,000 purses donated

Danson said her initial goal was to receive 50 purses but the Purse Project "quickly crushed" that figure. They've now received more than 3,000 purses filled with items like tampons, toothbrushes, socks, and other personal items, she said.

An entire room's been set aside at the the Ottawa Police Service's Elgin Street headquarters to store all the purses.

"Some of them are quite nice. They're very well stocked," said Danson. "There are a lot of women that are going to really appreciate this [gift] this Christmas."

'Breaking the silence'

Det. Sylvie Reaney, Danson's partner in the purse project, said she first had her eyes opened to the struggles facing women in developing countries who lack access to sanitary products while she worked this summer on her master's degree in public ethics.

It was through conversations with Danson that she realized similar challenges exist right here in Ottawa.

Gloria Hogan chooses one of the many purses filled with personal hygiene items at St. Luke's Table in Ottawa. The Purse Project is designed to get items like tampons, pads and toothbrushes into the hands of low-income women this holiday. (CBC Ottawa)

"It's a good fit for the police because the police, I mean, they deal with homeless people all the time on the streets, women that have been abused," said Reaney.

"[The project] is breaking the silence as far as sanitary needs go and hygiene. I'm sure a lot of people just don't think about those needs for women," said Reaney.

Gloria Hogan has been coming for decades to St. Luke's Table, one of the Ottawa charities where people can still drop off purses. She says many people don't realize how expensive hygienic items can be for someone on a fixed income.

"They're so expensive nowadays. For someone on [disability] or welfare, it's very expensive just to go buy something you really need." ​

People still interested in contributing can drop off their purses at a number of Ottawa shelters and community organizations, including St. Luke's Table, the Young Women's Shelter, Cornerstone Housing for Women, and the Wabano Centre.