HOUSTON — The City of Houston will soon provide feminine hygiene products at more than 30 city-run buildings.
City Council reached an agreement Wednesday at City Hall during talks on the Fiscal Year 2024 budget they later approved.
The city buildings will include multi-service centers and other places where Houston Health Department provides services for the most vulnerable groups.
Council Member Abbie Kamin originally introduced the proposal as an amendment to the FY 2024 budget.
She withdrew the amendment after Mayor Sylvester Turner agreed to have Houston Heath Department work out the logistics to implement the plan.
“It is not talked about enough,” said Kamin, during an interview with KHOU 11 after the vote. “There’s something called ‘period poverty’ where women in lower income brackets often have to choose between food or period products. So much so that local organizations like National Council of Jewish Women do annual drives for period products to gather supplies for people in need.”
Part of the discussion at City Council involved the need to place the products in restrooms.
“It’s about dignity,” said Kamin. “Rather than somebody having to go to a front desk and say, ‘May I have one?’, which no woman should have to do, they will be placed in restrooms.”
Kamin told KHOU after the vote that Houston Health Department will be able to provide these products within their existing budget.
She expects implementation to start within a few months.