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Period poverty affects people all over the world. These women of color are working to end it

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Period Poverty, Menstrual Health Awareness Month, Menstrual Health Equity, Black Women's Health and Wellness, Flow Initiative, Free Menstrual Products, theGrio.com

When Sabrina Natasha Browne runs out of menstrual hygiene products, she, like many people, goes to CVS and pays the $12-15 it may cost to restock. Four years ago, she didn’t realize what number of menstruating women simply couldn’t walk right into a pharmacy and walk out with the menstruation products they needed, especially in her community of Hoboken, New Jersey.

A New Jersey specialist said her eyes were opened when she participated in a volunteer produce collection event organized by The Hoboken Girl and Flow initiativea national nonprofit organization based in New Jersey.

“As a volunteer, I immediately motivated my network to donate thousands of products to those in need,” she added.

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Browne didn’t stop there. She eventually became a partner in The Flow Initiative, working with founder Eiko La Boria to end period poverty for all. In particular, she works on organizational partnerships and increases consumer awareness of period poverty across the country.

“I’m proud to be a partner with The Flow Initiative and to be at the forefront of the menstrual health movement with Eiko as we work to end period poverty,” she explained.

Browne described period poverty as “a public health problem in which women, girls and people who menstruate do not have access to products that support menstrual health, including sanitary pads, tampons and sanitary pads.”

She added that this can be a global problem, affecting adults and kids. More or less two out of five teenage girls admitted they couldn’t afford menstrual products, one in five may miss school because of their period, and one other 44% said they felt embarrassed or ashamed about not having access to products. When women do not have reliable access to high-quality menstrual health products, it can impact their ability to go to school, work and contribute to society.

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(From left to right) Sabrina Natasha Browne and Eiko La Boria. (Photo: Flow Initiative)

“Period poverty can impact a person in several ways, including disruptions to education, health problems, psychological impacts, economic mobility, and stigma and social isolation,” La Boria shared in an email. “The financial burden of purchasing menstrual products can strain limited household resources, exacerbating poverty.”

Period poverty is a public health issue that will disproportionately affect Black and Brown women and women of lower income status on this country. This may not only be access to the right products, but in addition the right tools to cope with symptoms comparable to pain from cramps.

“Even if a Black woman has access to menstrual products, the symptoms themselves can impact her education, work and personal life. But when these symptoms are compounded by period poverty, the losses can be even greater,” Browne wrote in an email.

While period poverty may accompany poverty generally, “it is not something that discriminates. I’m sitting here and I say, ‘Well, there’s a hot spot in this one particular state.’ Every state struggles with period poverty,” Browne explained.

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The Flow Initiative, launched by La Boria in New Jersey in 2018, goals to end period poverty and further promote menstrual health equity. The national nonprofit uses a three-pronged approach to get to the heart of the problem. First of all, it helps deliver products. It then provides education on menstrual health and hygiene. The final step in her approach is to influence policy.

Last 12 months, The Flow Initiative marked the anniversary of his death New Jersey Bill A1349which requires all public schools to provide students in grades 6 through 12 with free menstrual health products. The bill also requires the state to cover the costs, which Browne said “relieves the burden on schools.”

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“From my perspective, we’ve seen that women, girls and people who menstruate feel this particularly at the school level because it’s a big part of what we do,” Browne added.

She explained that students “miss school, career development, and the opportunities that come with not having access to products. And now New Jersey is one of the first states to really chart a path where hopefully other states will replicate and pass similar laws.”

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Universal laws could also potentially lead to greater public understanding of menstruation. Browne noted that half of the world’s population menstruates, yet there continues to be rampant misinformation and inadequate education.

Browne said that when organizing events, The Flow Initiative is inundated with questions, from general questions on periods to advice on the best products.

Period Poverty, Menstrual Health Awareness Month, Menstrual Health Equity, Black Women's Health and Wellness, Flow Initiative, Free Menstrual Products, theGrio.com
Sabrina Natasha Browne distributing menstrual health products. (Photo: Flow Initiative)

“In doing this work and talking to some of my peers, I learned how many of them either had periods but didn’t know what it was,” Browne noted. “I mean in each of our experiences, when you think about where (you were when) you got your first period: ‘Who helped me?’ “Who listened to me?” For some of us, these are moments of pride and excitement. For others, it may bring back pain and sadness.”

Browne, who’s of Liberian and Belgian descent, said she grew up in a house where menstruation was not shameful. She was raised with enough supplies, not stigma, and was given the number 101 by her grandmother. La Boria, a Puerto Rican woman, didn’t know the details of menstruation until her first period, when her mother, who worked as a nurse, explained to her that it would occur every month.

“I was devastated and irritated,” she said. “It inspired me to provide young people with the education to know what is happening to their bodies, the ability to properly manage their menstrual cycles and understand the enormous responsibility that comes with it.”

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Since its inception, the Flow initiative has made quite a few advances. To date, the organization has distributed over 1.3 million menstrual health products, conducted just over 300 workshops, and, as well as to successfully supporting the passage of Bill A1349, helped organize New Jersey’s official Menstrual Health Equality Day on May 28.

They also had the opportunity to partner with major players in the menstrual health market, including U by Kotex and Period.org. Other partners include Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and more.

Browne said that from White House meetings to influencing local policy, the Flow Initiative has managed to establish itself as a “credible national player” in the mission for menstrual health equity.

“We are credible, we are compassionate. We are on the front lines of this work. And that is what the brands which have worked with us appreciate,” she said.

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The initiative can be all the time relevant. As part of a social media campaign called ‘Voices for Change’, the organization is organizing a period products drive to secure £100,000 in funds to support students over the summer months. La Boria said they are also preparing for more initiatives.

“The Flow initiative is in an era of innovation and diversification of solutions. We are preparing exciting initiatives,” she said.

To learn more about period poverty and the way you possibly can support its efforts, visit the website Flow Initiative website.


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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com

Health and Wellness

How social media led to fraudulent influential people

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New Netflix series Apple cider vinegar He tells the story of influence on the well -being of Belle Gibson, who built loyal service on social media, documenting her journey to cancer online. But in 2015 Gibson was exposed as a fraud. She never had cancer and He lied in regards to the transfer of funds for charity And sick children.

The series documents Gibson’s growth and a later fall, presenting some psychological aspects that influenced her fraud. But this scandal also illustrates a greater story about conditions that enable cancer fraud, akin to Gibson, obtaining credibility and online impact.

2000. They were characterised by “Blogging Revolution” – Changing the way in which people produced and consumed information. Blogs enabled the creators of the content to share their life and public experiences and directly contact with readers. Niche communities arose around common interests, from health to a broken heart.

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Gibson used this trend, making a blog entitled The Whole Pantry, wherein she documented her alleged journey, fighting with a rare type of end brain cancer. She claimed that she decided to reject conventional cancer treatment on her blog.

Instead, Gibson expressed that she was authorized to treat herself naturally through nutrition, determination and love – in addition to alternative medicine, including Ayurvedic treatment, skull therapy, oxygen therapy and colonics.

The blog was developed in the appliance in 2013 and book In 2014 – with the history of Gibson she is legitimized by a good publisher and brandsThen, driven by its presence on social media.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2J_rmczhe

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The basic platform of Gibson’s communication was Instagram. She used photographic and video sharing application to construct and cooperate with observers through inspiring quotes, personal anecdotes and suggestive photos. Lifestyle and people affecting health normally gain trust and intimacy, presenting themselves as authentic, available – and autonomous from state and company interests.

Quote from Gibson’s book, also called The whole pantryIt comprises the way in which she performed this strategy to refer to the observers online. She wrote: “Too many people excessively edit. There is not enough honesty. The disease is a disease, ask questions, look for answers … Never improve yourself in a way that takes your heart, message and the real me. “

This character allowed Gibson not only to achieve fame online, but additionally to establish a relationship of parasites together with her followers by distancing from the hospital, seemingly related and unfirmed in its exchange with observers.

The mass media have long been considered to facilitate parasite relationships: Emotional and imagined ties, which, despite the sensation of real, are often one -dimensional and one -sided. Original parasite relations were created with media characters, akin to information anchors, radio hosts, film stars and pop stars.

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Today, content creators In social media they’re the major influential people. Although these relationships are often one -sided, they will still Feel intimate And real.

The role of the biological renewal industry

After the scandal, people were on the lookout for whom to blame. The fingers were indicated for the press for Gibson glamouring, as well publisher and other corporations that might not be checked by Gibson’s claims.

Criticism was also addressed to the biological renewal industry Rhodiuming in disinformation and pseudoscience.

It is assumed that Wellness is principally a female chase – and the Netflix series follows several influential women who built brands around their illness and diseases.

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In fact sexual dimensions of well -being They are more complicated. Primary founders Biological renewal movement They were men. Although many fought for the creation of well -being, they were increasingly often touched in the ladies’s market, a lot of whom I felt rightly unheard of and omitted by healthcare professionals.

There is an irony that Gibson’s wellness brand has passed at Instagram “Healing_BELLE”. Part of the success of today’s biological renewal industry comes from promising wonderful medicines and remedies for various types of illness and diseases. Many Influential wellness I built the successful brands, creating health and well -being.

It is much from The origin of movement And a more positive concept of health they tried to determine – which were to act together with medicine, not medicine, not against this.

Gibson gained fame in The atmosphere of low institutional trustwhere her vivid experience was valued on institutional knowledge. Similar to many Influence on AltkoHer suspicion of conventional medicine caused controversial claims on vaccinations and advantages Gerson therapy – a scheme that Cancel theorems Through a special weight loss program, supplements and enemas – and raw milk.

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It was by documenting the negative unintended effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy in Her book The indisputable fact that Gibson was able to present her lifestyle and experienced experience as a hopeful alternative path to healing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcn2uvyz72k

After she was convicted of misleading and deceptive proceedings in 2017 and ordered by the Federal Court of Australia Pay a superb of $ 410,000 ($ 206,000), you may expect a decrease in cancer fraud, considering Global publicity This scandal attracted.

Instead, others loud cases content creators Shipping cancer disinformation on short video platforms They appeared at an alarming pace – often using social media to earn on false features of miracles, from the kernel of apricot to SourSop tea.

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Short video platforms, akin to Tiktok, Instagram and Shorts YouTube, modified the dynamics of fame. Algorithms They are crucial for user experiences in these applications, which allows relatively unknown content creators to gain visibility and online attention.

While Gibson has spent years of cultivating the next online, today the creator of the content with only a handful of followers can send the engaging film and achieve tens of millions of views.

Technologies have modified, but there may be an industry of content creators who derive profits from misleading and harmful advice. . The frequency of online cancer disinformation He emphasizes that the issue works much deeper than within the case of Gibson, as Apple Cider said in vinegar.

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This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
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Health and Wellness

Al Roker remembers the advice saving life from his father, wife and others

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Al Roker, who has been more and more open about his health journey and biological renewal for years, desires to encourage others.

On Monday, January 6, The Today Show launched a totally recent health application and wellness, Start todayAnd he called the famous meteogra, the most important motivational officer.

“It’s about smaller choices that you make every day that make up great things,” said Roker People magazine When discussing the application.

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He added: “I think that part of the way of thinking for people who struggle with weight or any problem is that something is happening, and you go:” Well, I blew it up “and then you are out of reservation. I think you realize that this is not the end of the world. Now, okay, let’s start today and start again. “

Users who download the application can expect meal plans, challenges related to live and on demand and inspiration to proceed to pass. They can even discover a roleer each inspiring people and leading them through walks, his favorite technique to be energetic.

The 70-year-old feels prepared to encourage and motivate others due to his own experience, accepting life-saving advice. Talking with PeopleHe remembered what his father once told him to start out his biological renewal journey.

“To be honest, I fought with weight for most of my adult life. And my dad got great, and at one point at the end he promised me that I would be shaped, “said Roker, father of the Three. “And he said,” Look, we each know that I won’t be here to assist you raise my children. You should be here in your children. And it really got stuck, which led me to bypass my stomach. “

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Since the receipt of the stomach beltway in 2002, Right experienced major health challenges in the eye of the public, including survivable prostate cancer after diagnosing in 2020 and hospitalization in 2022 in the case of just about fat and internal bleeding.

Miss Texas-Ghanese-American Annette Addo-Yob-the first place in the Miss America competition

Since the start of his own health journey, greater than twenty years ago, he adopted a scheme of waking up clearly and early to get at a distance of 20-25 minutes after the treadmill, and then about 10 minutes of load -bearing training. Roker was also influenced by his fitness journey his “fitness -oriented”, Deborah Roberts.

“I was one of those people who, if I didn’t get for an hour of training, I just didn’t do it,” said The Outlet. “And (my wife) was:” Hey, look, something is best than nothing. ” So I’m there now. I believe that something is better than nothing. “

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Health and Wellness

Wendy Williams breaks down with tears, talking about the “prison” conservatory

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Wendy Williams breaks down with tears, talking about the

Ghettos

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Over the past few years, we have now heard many sides of history about the Wendy Williams Conservatory, but the legend of the media finally decided to say her side. In a recent interview, the former television personality broke up in tears, sharing the details of its current reality.

“I am not cognitively, but I feel that I am in prison,” said Williams. “I’m definitely isolated. To consult with those individuals who live here, this shouldn’t be my cup of tea – she added.

She was the host of the talc show is currently at the New York facility with older patients and has no access to her phone or laptop.

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She continued: “I am in the place where people are in the 90s and 80s and 70s. Something is wrong on this floor. “Williams also has no freedom to exit or have guests, which implies that he cannot do mundane things comparable to a walk or visit a family.

“I don’t know if I will be able to see my dad on his 94th birthday,” she continued, tearing a tear. “He is not promised later.”

Williams called her present “emotional abuse”, referring to the care wherein she was from May 2022.

By telling my every day activities, Williams said: “I keep the closed door, watch TV. I listen to the radio. I watch the window. I sit here and my life passes. “

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During the interview, the mother of one among them explained that she has no access to her money and is unable to seek out consolation in her animals once they were taken.

“I have USD 15,” Williams said. Before she added that her cats “disappeared” though “she wants them with her”.

Williams was diagnosed with frontal and post -defense dementia and aphasia in 2023, her guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, called television a tycoon “cognitively and permanently overpowered” in October 2024.

Despite her current circumstances, a proud mother was capable of appear rarely publicly last month to participate in graduating from son Kevin Hunter Jr. in Florida.

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We pray that Williams receives freedom he’s on the lookout for and her health remains to be improving.

This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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