How We Distribute Essential Hygiene Products
Hope & Comfort is the only organization in Boston solely dedicated to addressing youth hygiene insecurity. The many requests for hygiene products we receive tell the story of thousands of youth without access to the essentials. Often, these young people are embarrassed to go to school and isolate themselves. Supplying items like soap and deodorant can help improve the health and self-esteem of a young person, giving them the confidence to succeed.
Hope & Comfort works with more than 150 youth-serving and community organizations – including college campuses – to provide hygiene products such as soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes and feminine care products. Our partnering organizations listed below help distribute essential hygiene products to at-hope youth, a term we use for children and young adults who have the ability to succeed when given the proper tools and knowledge.
Are you a youth serving organization or other community organization interested in receiving products from Hope & Comfort. Click here to request items.
Schools
Argenziano (Somerville)
Bates (BPS)
Beacon Academy
Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology
Berklee College of Music
Blackstone Innovation (BPS)
Boston Adult Technical Academy (BPS)
Boston Community Leadership Academy (BPS)
BPS Homeless Education Resource Network
BPS Nurses Training
Bradley Elementary (BPS)
Brandeis University
Bridgewater State University
Brighton High (BPS)
Brockton Public Schools
Bruce (Lawerence)
BTU K-8 Pilot (BPS)
Bunker Hill Community College
Burke High (BPS)
Charlestown High (BPS)
Condon K-8 (BPS)
Conley Elementary (BPS)
Connery (Lynn)
Dante Alighieri (BPS)
Dever Elementary (BPS)
Edison K-8 (BPS)
English High (BPS)
Everett Elementary (BPS)
Fletcher Maynard Academy (Cambridge)
Framingham Public Schools
Gardner Pilot Academy (BPS)
Grew Elementary (BPS)
Guild Elementary (BPS)
Haley Pilot (BPS)
Haynes Early Education Center (BPS)
Henderson Inclusion (BPS)
Hennigan (BPS)
Hernandez K-8 (BPS)
Higgins (Peabody)
Higginson-Lewis (BPS)
Horace Mann School for the Deaf (BPS)
JG Whittier (Haverhill)
King School (BPS)
Kennedy-Longfellow (Cambridge)
Kennedy Middle (Waltham)
Lawrence High
Lee K-8 (BPS)
Lilla Frederick (BPS)
Lyon K-8 (BPS)
Manning (BPS)
Mario Umana Academy (BPS)
Massasoit Community College
MassBay Community College
Mattahunt (BPS)
McAuliffe (Framingham)
McKay K-8 (BPS)
Michael Perkins (BPS)
Middlesex Community College
Mildred Ave (BPS)
Mozart (BPS)
Murphy K-8 (BPS)
Nathan Hale (BPS)
Ohrenberger (BPS)
Orchard Gardens (BPS)
Patrick J. Kennedy (BPS)
Philbrick Elementary (BPS)
Samuel Adams Elementary (BPS)
Sarah Greenwood (BPS)
St. James School (Haverhill)
Suffolk University
TechBoston Academy (BPS)
Trotter (BPS)
Revere Public Schools
Roosevelt K-8 (BPS)
Russell (BPS)
UP Academy Dorchester (BPS)
UP Academy Holland (BPS)
Winship Elementary (BPS)
Youth-Serving Organizations
ABCD
African Cultural Service
Belle of the Ball
Birthday Wishes
Boston Girls Empowerment Network
Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston
Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester
Boys & Girls Club of Lynn
Boys & Girls Club of Woburn
Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Catie’s Closet
Charlestown Coalition
Christmas in the City
City Year
Cradles to Crayons
Freshman Fresh Start
Healthy Chelsea
Hyde Square Task Force
Malden YMCA
MetroWest YMCA
RAW Art Works
Rise Above Foundation
School on Wheels
ShortStop (Wayside Youth)
South End Community Health Center
Storytime Crafts
Tempo Young Adult Resource Center
The Home for Little Wanderers
The Theater Offensive
The Wily Network
United South End Settlements
Waltham Boys & Girls Club
Waltham Partnership for Youth
Wonderfund
YMCA of Greater Boston
YouthBuild North Shore
YW Boston
Y2Y Youth Shelter
Families
A Place to Turn Pantry
Acton Community Supper
Brazilian American Center
Bread of Life Pantry
Centre Street Food Pantry
Charity Guild Pantry (Brockton)
Dedham Food Pantry
Eliot Family Resource Center
Family Aid (Boston)
Healthy Waltham
Interfaith Services Food Pantry
Jewish Family & Children’s Services
JFS MetroWest
Lexington Interfaith Food Pantry
Natick Service Council
Needham Community Council
Neighborhood Villages
Newton Food Pantry
Open Table Food Pantry
Quincy Community Action Programs Food Center
Rose’s Bounty Food Pantry
South Boston Neighborhood House
St. Joseph’s Pantry
St. Mary’s Pantry
St. Patrick’s Pantry
St. Paul’s Pantry
Sudbury Food Pantry
Voice of the Tabernacle Multi Service Center
Wellesley Food Pantry
Community
Boston Medical Center
Boston Public Health Commission
Caritas Communities
Casa Myrna
Catching Joy
Catholic Charities
Circle of Hope
City Mission
City of Boston Health and Human Services
City of Newton Health and Human Services
Dimock Center
Friends of Boston’s Homeless
Friday Night Supper Program
Lazarus House
Lowell Community Health Center
My Brother’s Keeper
Nuestra Comunidad
On The Rise
Outreach Van at Boston University
Pine Street Inn
Provision Ministry
REACH Beyond Domestic Violence
Rosie’s Place
Salvation Army
South Middlesex Opportunity Council
St. Francis House
Sudbury Board of Health
The Kraft Center for Community Health
Uncommon Threads
Uphams Corner Health Center
Women’s Lunch Place
HYGIENE DISTRIBUTION PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: MENSTRUAL + HYGIENE PRODUCT PILOT PROGRAM
Hope & Comfort is proud lead an innovative, three-year pilot program which distributes comprehensive, personalized menstrual + hygiene product kits to Greater Boston youth in need monthly. This program is generously funded in part by CJP’s The Miriam Fund. Select participating partners include our longtime collaborators at Beacon Academy, Charlestown Coalition, Hyde Square Task Force, Raw Art Works , School on Wheels MA, South Boston Neighborhood House, Waltham Boys & Girls Club, Waltham Partnership for Youth, and YouthConnect. These inspiring partners each provide frontline services to young people in need across Greater Boston, bolstered further by Hope & Comfort’s support through frequent essential product distributions.
Our pilot program addresses the widespread issue of period poverty, which goes hand in hand with overall hygiene insecurity. Did you know that 9 out of 10 participants we surveyed reported having to miss at least a day of school due to insufficient access to pads or tampons? Using a distribution methodology that is responsive to the highly individualized needs of our clients, we not only supply a comprehensive suite of both period and hygiene products on a rolling monthly basis, but also collect data on the prevalence and impact of period poverty. Our interim findings can be viewed in reports covering Pilot Program Report: Year #1, built on further in Tackling Period Poverty and Hygiene Insecurity in Greater Boston: Year #2.
As we work to build awareness around this often-overlooked issue and increase support for young people experiencing both period poverty and hygiene insecurity, we invite you to do the same by donating menstrual products, supporting Hope & Comfort’s work, and sharing our latest report. Together, we can end hygiene insecurity and advance equity for women, girls, and others who menstruate.
