Fredericton group gathering feminine hygiene supplies for homeless women

A new group in Fredericton is collecting donations of feminine hygiene products to give them to local shelters and individuals in need.

Esther Vaswani said she started freeflo.nb after experiencing difficulty buying supplies herself and in talking with people she knows who struggle to afford the products.

"It's extremely difficult, I think we can all relate to every single month ... having to go out and purchase all these expensive products," Vaswani told Shift New Brunswick on Thursday.

"It can be a real financial burden and sometimes it's not feasible at all."

She saw examples of other people and groups who started initiatives to help combat the problem, such as in Saint John, so she decided to do something similar for Fredericton.

"We wanted to start a program more specifically aimed at people who are currently experiencing any type of homelessness and also people who are experiencing financial insecurity of any kind to just make those few little times of the month a little bit easier," said Vaswani.

She said people are already dropping off donations, which will then be turned into care packages for women at local shelters in Fredericton.

If people are interested in donating products or volunteering with the group, they can contact Vaswani on Instagram, Facebook or via email.