A new resource launched by the Dallas Youth Commission will provide North Texas students with various hygiene products. Students can stop by L.G. Pinkston High School to take items from the “Community Closet” with no questions asked, Fox 4 News reported.
Items that will be available include razors, tampons, pads, and deodorant. Donations can be made to the high school’s front office.
The new initiative was started by Youth Commissioner Margarita Hernandez.
Hernandez shared with Fox 4 News that the Dallas Youth Commission was reinstated in 2015 as a way to advocate for some of the issues facing North Texas students.
“We’ve had kids come to us and say, ‘Hey, I don’t feel like this is good. So, can you like help us fix some things?’ So, we actually do anything to help them,” she said.
According to Hernandez, students who do not have access to hygiene products may face stress or bullying, and the new initiative aims to combat that.
“We as high school students, we know what’s going on around in our community,” she told Fox 4 News. “And I feel like whenever they don’t have the chance to speak up, we’re the ones that can be like, ‘Hey, we need this fixed in our community.‘“
The Dallas Youth Commission hopes that the Community Closet at Pinkston High School will inspire similar efforts around the region.
On the Commission’s website, Hernandez said part of the inspiration came from her own struggles at school on days she would forget her own hygiene products.
She stated she would often forget pads, and the ones provided by the school were not sufficient.
“The school would give us those really thin liners and expected them to last 8 hours,” she said. “I knew I had to do something.”
The Commission was first established in 1994, the website shares, and is composed of 15 Dallas youth. It works alongside city departments and officials.
“We work hand in hand with city officials, departments, and organizations to create and promote our initiatives – whether it be environmentally or civically. We have a lot of great projects planned this year that will benefit a majority of teens across the City,” the website states.
Some of the other initiatives created by the Dallas Youth Commission include the Dallas Youth Scholarship, the Dallas Youth Podcast, Youth Spotlight, the Dallas Youth Magazine, and the Teens for Dallas Grant.
According to the website, any high school senior can apply for the youth scholarship, which can be used toward the student’s future education.
The podcast is used to give updates on Commission initiatives and inform Dallas youth about issues in the city.
The magazine is published across the City of Dallas. The publication is created by youth, and for youth, the website explains and is full of art, articles, and more.
“All articles, art, and designs displayed are created by a board of teens selected through an application process,” the website states.
The Youth Spotlight for the Commission has the mayor recognize Dallas students for the contributions made to their own communities.
