You know how we have period poverty, surely we’ll have mask poverty

[Everydayisalearningday]

Yes I know we use a scarf etc but there was a teenage girl on the train on Fri her body language showed how uncomfortable she felt not wearing a mask when everyone else was sat down wearing one as they’re meant to be compulsory, so she stood at the doors with her back turned and it got me thinking how those too young to earn may struggle to access face coverings from parents who are struggling financially

Yes, I think you're right. They're not exactly cheap. Hopefully they're not around for too long.

Yes I will imagine it will, but there are online tutorials which show you how to make basic masks out of old clothes hopefully they will help a bit.

We made ours out of an old T shirt.

Food banks and charities are distributing them and as others have said you can easily make your own.

I think it was more likely she was embarrassed because she did not choose to or forgot to wear one rather than because she could not afford to wear one.

There is no reason why there should be. You can make a mask from a sock, everyone has socks.

I'm not convinced about period poverty to be honest. You can get pads for a couple of quid in a saver shop. Fags cost over a fiver, and noone seems to struggle to buy them or vapes. I think it's down to money management really. And yes you can make a mask out of a scarf and lots of proper masks are being given away free too.

@NotShiny

I'm not convinced about period poverty to be honest. You can get pads for a couple of quid in a saver shop. Fags cost over a fiver, and noone seems to struggle to buy them or vapes. I think it's down to money management really. And yes you can make a mask out of a scarf and lots of proper masks are being given away free too.

I provide sanitary products for DD but if as a parent I choose to spend my money on fags & booze where does DD get the money to buy sanitary products with no job & no access to money unless I give it to her?

Yup, wearing a mask made out of an old sock is going to be an acceptable option for a teenager.

"I provide sanitary products for DD but if as a parent I choose to spend my money on fags & booze where does DD get the money to buy sanitary products with no job & no access to money unless I give it to her"

Its parents responsibility to provide this for their children, noone elses. My point is that the family could afford it, so not really poverty.

@NotShiny

I'm not convinced about period poverty to be honest. You can get pads for a couple of quid in a saver shop. Fags cost over a fiver, and noone seems to struggle to buy them or vapes. I think it's down to money management really. And yes you can make a mask out of a scarf and lots of proper masks are being given away free too.

This is rather ignorant, of course it exists.

The numbers of people who can't afford food and other basic items is rising year on year.

I personally think period poverty is usually down to shitty parents. In our school we had girls from all kinds of backgrounds without access to sanitary wear, their parents just didn't bother. One girl was kept away from school every month once she hit year nine due to extreme pain with periods but other than that it really was a case of poor parenting.

Mask poverty will probably be the same. You'll have parents who don't believe in mask wearing not allowing their children too. I guess some children may want fancy ones as their friends do and their parents can't afford those, but that's just life.

@NotShiny

"I provide sanitary products for DD but if as a parent I choose to spend my money on fags & booze where does DD get the money to buy sanitary products with no job & no access to money unless I give it to her"

Its parents responsibility to provide this for their children, noone elses. My point is that the family could afford it, so not really poverty.

There are vast numbers of people who don't have the money.

Talking about people spending it on cigarettes is a red herring.

Say you don't care about people who can't afford things if that is your position, but don't lie about the existence of the problem.

There is no “mask poverty” - you can use anything as a face covering

Likening it to teenage girls missing school due to lack of sanpro is ridiculous

Maybe she was unable to wear a mask eg she may have asthma, ASD, other condition and her body language was showing that she was worried about not been able to protect herself so was turning her face.

I agree that disposable masks are expensive but it is possible to make your own or use a scarf .

I've seen masks being handed out freely in all kinds of places. Including railway stations, hospital entrance halls, etc. Our Spar shop is selling them at 50p each so hardly going to break the bank if you have to pay.

No matter a parent's income, a child cannot force their parents to be responsible or buy supplies. We can go on about how it's ~only the parents' responsibility~, but enforcing that - especially if their child is a teen - is practically impossible so yes, the child is impoverished by lack of basic supplies including in this situation masks. We can either care about people in that reality, or we only care about some ideal.

Comparing it to drugs that only a minority of people use anyways is heartless and acting like everyone in a family has equal access to resources is brainless.

Whether the lack of mask access is comparable to menstrual products I'm not sure, but I imagine that - especially if reports that masks should be changed regularly, there will be people who find that difficult. There are calls for people to donate masks and shields to various places, but whether everyone who would benefit can access those is unlikely and something that needs to be worked on.

The people talking about creatively using socks, old clothes etc - you do realise the same argument can be put forward for making washable san pro. And yet somehow people realise that the chances of an impoverished twelve year old being able to wash homemade reusable sanitary towels, much less find needle, thread, “old clothes”, fastenings and maybe a sewing machine, plus the time and skills to manufacture are remote. Why are masks different?

I assume they’ll be available, like san pro, through food banks, probably schools, potentially handed out at the door of supermarkets etc.

There isnt a single teenage child in high schools these days that doesnt wear makeup or walk around with a can of drink in their hand. They can all find a way to get a £1 for sanpro if they put their mind to it I'm sure.

I'm really tired by the casual heartlessness around the issue of poverty.

I went to school with some who had nothing to spare. When I first saw this my eyes were on stalks but it was more common than a lot of people think.

My dad went to school with people who had nothing to spare.

My children now go to school with people who have nothing to spare.

Poverty exists. It is growing.it will be worse due to covid. Masks will be easier to access for families with enough money. This is obvious.

@NotShiny

There isnt a single teenage child in high schools these days that doesnt wear makeup or walk around with a can of drink in their hand. They can all find a way to get a £1 for sanpro if they put their mind to it I'm sure.

I know this to be a lie, as I have first-hand knowledge of the issue.

For children, schools should be ensuring children have access to masks, similar to sanpro (but not identical). It is not just children from lower income families who won't have enough or the right things. Some parents are just crap, and with sanpro some families have a father as the main carer and sometimes these things are not openly discussed (obviously not in all cases, but certainly mine). Textile classes could make a school supply or charities could donate - a lot of people set up mask making charitable activities in lockdown for careworkers.

Actually better than having a school supply, maybe pupils could each make a few of their own in a suitable tech class so that there is no stigma of needing a donated one but everyone has some of their own.

@NotShiny

There isnt a single teenage child in high schools these days that doesnt wear makeup or walk around with a can of drink in their hand. They can all find a way to get a £1 for sanpro if they put their mind to it I'm sure.

Does this mean you don't believe in food poverty either? Since they can all find a pound for food if they put their mind to it? I'm sure the healthcare workers treating the 2500 children admitted to hospital this year for malnourishment might disagree with you.

There isnt a single teenage child in high schools these days that doesnt wear makeup or walk around with a can of drink in their hand.

Isn't there? Well there you go then, no such thing as poverty. Problem solved.

You don't need to buy a mask, just use a scarf. No scarf ? Charity shops sell them for 50p and they can be washed. You can make one yourself out of an old pillowcase or t shirt. The bluish paper masks can be bought on amazon for less than £5 for 50. It is also easy to cut a tube mask from a old pair of leggings.