St. Joseph County Health officials are celebrating what they say was a successful first year of an effort to help kids avoid missing class time when unexpected things happen at school.
The health department’s new Community Partnership Program collects donated items like clothing, hygiene and period products for students in need at school.
Kayla Mondich is the health department’s School Health Liaison.
“Underwear that’s needed, pants that are needed. This also includes accidents that happen, and then I’ve had a lot of stories of kids ripping their pants at recess and needing a new pair,” Mondich says.
The items helped students reclaim at least 300 hours of class time, but the real figure is likely higher because only 20% of the county’s 84 participating schools responded to a survey.
Health Department Director of Nursing Ashley Helman says the program is especially helpful to kids in schools that aren’t in high-poverty areas.
”They have a number of children that need help but they don’t have access to the same programs because they don’t have enough students that meet those need thresholds," Helman says, "so that is an area where we were really able to offer something that they couldn’t get elsewhere.”
