I Support The Girls (ISTG), a non-profit organization that collects and distributes essential items including bras, underwear and menstrual hygiene products for women and girls experiencing homelessness and impoverishment, is starting a South Puget Sound chapter that will serve the area from Tacoma to Tenino.
The South Puget Sound chapter is one of 51 affiliate locations for ISTG and is the third in Washington state, joining Seattle and Whidbey Island. ISTG has chapters in 24 states and six countries, including Pakistan, the Philippines, Germany, Australia and Canada.
Isha Alexander, a co-affiliate with ISTG-SPS, said that the chapter is beginning to contact with local organizations such as food banks and churches to establish donation bins. The organization collects and distributes new and gently used bras; new sealed packages of menstrual hygiene products such as tampons, pads and menstrual cups; new underwear; new socks; and other small toiletries.
“Collecting is usually easiest done by business, so if businesses would be willing to put a bin in their location that we would check once a week or as needed or requested by them, that helps us collect donations that are easier on the community,” Alexander said. “Not everybody has $20 to provide, but they might have an extra pair of socks that no longer fits their kids.”
Since ISTG was founded in 2015 by Dana Marlowe, the organization has donated over 30 million products. Alexander, who works alongside Pam Williams in the South Puget Sound chapter, said the mission of ISTG is to support women and girls of their basic needs no matter their circumstances. She added that they help women and girls experiencing homelessness and in recovery of an abuse or domestic violence situation, among other situations.
“It’s the identification of something that is hard in life in general, particularly for women, and is made even more difficult when you’re in a situation where you might not have the privacy or the supplies that you need to take care of your basic needs,” Alexander said. “These items can be incredibly expensive and hard to find. It’s contributing to the basic feeling that you’re worth something and that you matter.”
Alexander said another goal of ISTG is to destigmatize the basic needs of women and girls and to stray away from judgment of those who are dealt a tough hand.
“The more we can have the conversation and destigmatize the whole concept of this, the easier it is as we move forward,” she said. “People don’t realize that for most of us, it’s a single medical emergency or an unexpected bill that can be the difference between having a home and not, so the recognition of that and how we can make that easier is a really big focus of an organization like this. Similarly, with domestic violence situations, we don’t always realize how it’s one little step in life that can put you there, and it’s easy to put judgment on that sometimes. We work really hard to try to stay away from that. A person in need is a person in need.”
Alexander also sent a note to the local sheriffs to see if they would carry what she called a “blessing bag,” or a bag containing toiletries for those in need while they’re on duty. She said ISTG-SPS will eventually help with local events to supply items, but she wants to make sure that high-traffic areas across the region are covered and that supplies are available to those with and without transportation to and from cities within the South Puget Sound area.
“The most effective way to get these supplies out is through the organizations because people already know where to go. It’s not an additional trip. The issue with events, and especially for as far and wide as we are, the difference between Tenino and Yelm if you don’t have a car is like 10 miles,” she said. “Events are great in larger areas, but for actual distribution in small rural areas like this, I don’t think they’re as effective.”
To learn more about ISTG-SPS, visit its website at https://isupportthegirls.org/ and its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/istgSPS/.
