Dr. Courtney Crittenden (right) tables at a Love, Period. event. Photo courtesy of Courtney Crittenden.
In 2019, Dr. Courtney Crittenden led a Sunday school class at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Athens, Tennessee, which sparked an idea.
A biblical passage about menstruation led her to research period poverty, or the lack of access to affordable menstrual products.
She learned that an estimated one in five girls nationwide missed school because they didn’t have access to period products.
“It’s just so unfair,” said Crittenden, a UC Foundation Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. “It is biological and happens to 50% of the population. It’s not talked about and kids are missing school. That was insane to me.”
Crittenden brought the issue to her church community, where four other women offered to help. Together, they founded Love, Period., a ministry that provides free menstrual products to people across East Tennessee.
Seven years later, the organization expects to distribute a record 120,000 to 125,000 period products in 2026.
“We just decided to do something about it,” Crittenden said.
Love, Period. supplies products to schools throughout McMinn, Meigs and Polk counties. It also distributes products to local libraries, the YMCA, public bathrooms, food pantries and correctional facilities.
Crittenden, who now chairs the organization’s executive committee, said the group aims to keep expanding.
“From the beginning, our focus was on sustainability,” she said. “We didn’t want to have this go for two or three years and have people start to depend on us and then we fade out.”
At UTC, Crittenden teaches students about the criminal justice system, including corrections and the experiences of women who enter the system. She discusses issues of fairness and access to basic necessities, including menstrual products.
Those concerns led her to push for Love, Period. to expand into local jails.
“When we were able to get buy-in from our supporters to go into jails, it was probably the proudest I was,” she said. “This is just a basic human dignity issue and women should not be without products.”
Love, Period. now supplies products to jails in McMinn, Meigs and Polk counties.
Crittenden said her students have also helped Love, Period. with the work.
After learning about the organization, UTC Associate Professor of Psychology Ruth Walker added it to a list of community service opportunities for students in one of her courses. Several traveled to Athens to help pack bags of menstrual products for distribution.
The organization also participates in UTC’s annual Health Fair, where volunteers distribute products and talk with students about menstrual health.
Love, Period. accepts monetary donations and menstrual products. People can reach out through its social media accounts (@loveperiodchatt) to request supplies or learn how to help.
Crittenden said she is encouraged by younger generations, especially her students.
“I really love that this generation that we have in college and the ones coming after them talk about periods more and more and are less ashamed about it,” she said.
After seven years of helping people access menstrual products, Crittenden still sees how necessary the work is.
“If you miss school, you miss opportunities,” she said. “If we can keep people in the classrooms where the opportunities are, especially in those formative years, but also in college, where period poverty is a huge issue.”
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