Within the past year, multiple student organizations have worked around the clock to help students at Pitt with their essential intimate needs and are now seeing the results of their efforts.

Various student groups on campus have been working to get personal resource stations up and running to provide necessary sexual health and menstruation supplies to Pitt students.

One of these organizations, Planned Parenthood Generation Action (PPGen) at Pitt, has worked since last semester to put in a resource locker with free Plan B, diva cups, condoms and more in the Office of Sustainability in the William Pitt Union. Prevention at Pitt also provides a resource locker on the 31st floor of the Cathedral of Learning containing a variety of bed linens and toiletries meant to aid sexual assault survivors.

Katie Emmert, a senior political science and law, criminal justice and society major and business manager of PPGen at Pitt said one of the biggest motivations behind the PPGen resource locker is to make a variety of different helpful products accessible for students. 

“I think a lot of these products are difficult to find or expensive. Plan B can be $50 retail at your local CVS, which is just not accessible. A bunch of different reproductive health services are inaccessible because of legal restrictions or affordability, or just because of proximity access,” Emmert said. “Usually in the cases when someone needs Plan B, they just need it. And there shouldn’t be a price restriction on it.”

Emmert said the PPGen organization has worked since the fall to fundraise and obtain grants from Planned Parenthood to get this locker up and running.

“A lot of the Plan B, we have through grants. Some of the extra stuff like the menstrual cups, tampons, and soap we buy through a personal budget,” Emmert said. “It was really cool to see it all come together and be there.”

Emmert urged people to not be nervous about visiting one of PPGen’s locker.

“There’s no judgment at all. We really need everyone to do their best to normalize people having sex because a lot of the reason that we see insecurity around it is because of lack of sex education and sex normalization in our younger years, which is really unfortunate,” Emmert said. “Usually when I talk about Plan B, I tell people that I’ve used it. It’s normal. It’s reasonable. And who cares? It really is a judgment-free zone. We just encourage people if they are looking for something that’s not there to just reach out to us personally, and we’ll try to connect them to it.”

Another program, the Menstrual Equity Initiative (You & MEI), began last semester to fight period poverty and provide free menstrual products to students. Started by a group of RAs across campus, the group partners with other organizations such as PPGen, ResLife and the Pitt Pantry to supply their resource spots in residence hall bathrooms with containers of menstrual products.

Gargi Rane, a senior molecular biology major, started her own “Tampon Initiative” in Tower C before combining with You & MEI. Rane said the group hopes to establish a consistent source of menstrual products on Pitt’s campus. The You & MEI resource spots provide different-sized pads, tampons and panty liners for students to use.

“By raising awareness about the impacts of period poverty on college-aged individuals and relieving the pressures from female floor RAs to supply products out of pocket, we are not only expanding accessibility but creating a safer environment for our residents,” Rane said.

You & MEI leaves a pamphlet with information about period health along with supplies at each of its resource spots in residence bathrooms. Marin Catino, a senior molecular biology and gender, sexuality and women’s studies major who helped start the pilot program for You & MEI, said ensuring people get a proper menstrual education is important for initiatives like this to become more accessible within the community.

“There could be someone who is extremely well connected and passionate about this issue, but there also could be someone who does not menstruate and wants to learn more due to a friend or family member,” Catino said. “This divide is common, and the resources give everyone a chance at learning more.”

Francesca Mellot, a junior chemistry major, joined the You & MEI team when she heard it was looking for RAs to support it. Mellot said she hopes people will continue to utilize You & MEI’s resource bins and emphasized the importance of student feedback by scanning the feedback form on the resource bins to help the group see how they can continue to benefit the community.

“With this initiative, we hope to show the university that period poverty is prominent on our campus, and it starts with you,” Mellot said. “This initiative was started for people who need these resources, so don’t hesitate to use them.”

This article was updated to clarify information regarding Prevention at Pitt’s resource locker. The Pitt News regrets this error.