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

Poverty is definitely prevalent in today's society although it's not always obvious. Children become good hiders of it too and make excuses for it.
Some parents dont care if their child has clean clothes or food to eat that day a mask isn't going to be a priority either whether it be bought or homemade.
Schools could potentially hand them out every day but given how expensive disposable ones are and the amount of children especially In high school I cant see how schools will be able to afford to do that

"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 will always be families known to social services for not ensuring their kids are fed. Often drink and drug addictions come into play.
I do know that lots and lots of families attend food banks, then will be seen at local takeaways, ordering a substantial amount of food in the 20 or 30 pound mark, which lots of working families cant afford. For me a lot of it is around choices. You get shown benefit programmes where parents say they have no food in the cupboards, but they are sat there smoking, and several pets in the house, and all the kids have the latest phones and ps4's. I've known parents to say they cant afford school trips for their kids, but when they turn up to collect then, they have bags of stella with them. And the school ends up paying.

Yes of course period poverty exists. But you don't need an expensive mask, you can use a scarf or any piece of material. My DH made a mask out of a cotton handkerchief and a couple of elastic bands.

I used to work in a secondary school and the single biggest safeguarding issue we had was neglect caused by poverty. It is not the child's fault if the parents choose to spend what little money they have on fags, booze, drugs etc........ we have a duty as a civilised society to help these children out don't we? Yes the parents are in the wrong if they are spending money on other things, we also had parents who literally weren't eating so they could give the child a meal. They had no money for luxuries like drinking or smoking.

In this scenario it should be child centric first and help out our fellow humans.

@NotShiny

"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 will always be families known to social services for not ensuring their kids are fed. Often drink and drug addictions come into play.
I do know that lots and lots of families attend food banks, then will be seen at local takeaways, ordering a substantial amount of food in the 20 or 30 pound mark, which lots of working families cant afford. For me a lot of it is around choices. You get shown benefit programmes where parents say they have no food in the cupboards, but they are sat there smoking, and several pets in the house, and all the kids have the latest phones and ps4's. I've known parents to say they cant afford school trips for their kids, but when they turn up to collect then, they have bags of stella with them. And the school ends up paying.

This is another common lie about poverty, that there is plenty of money but it is spent on vices.

Always with the judgement and belittling and the same old lies that have been deployed since Dickens' day.

Well, I've known families with no PS4s or Nintendos. No smartphones. No holidays or trips to the zoo. Kids dressed in hand me downs and basic primark. No make up or cans of juice. Free school meals the main form of nutrition for the day, much else is dependent on what's available in food banks. So there you go. You're not the only one who can give examples of families you 'know'.

@FedHimtoTigers1990

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

You'd hope so, but no, really it's not unusual to see children in poorer families without them.

Luckily there are lots of local initiatives that are getting face coverings into food boxes and handed out for free to people in need.
Face coverings can also be obtained for a suggested donation of £2 at community mask trees. If you can't afford them they are free, if you can afford to donate more please do.
It can be done, are you helping?

if I could sew, I would happily make facemarks for free in my spare time.

the only thing im good at is art, which I earn a living from, but I would love to be able to do something this practical and help someone out.

I have a neighbour who does this with pet beds and coats - she does it for free in her off hours.

depends how much energy and free time you have of course. but masks can't be the hard if you're good at sewing.

that would be some huge sock, seriously?

Given the population of India and Brazil seem to all have face coverings, I’m not sure why the UK will have a problem here.

Luckily there are lots of local initiatives that are getting face coverings into food boxes and handed out for free to people in need.

Also free to just pick up at the entrance to hospitals and railway stations. Just go in and pick one up - no one is policing you!

that would be some huge sock, seriously?
You cut the sock down the side so that it opens out flat instead of it being a tube.

They're giving them away for free at some train stations.

Here, Lidl is selling reusable (nice, sturdy) cotton masks for €2 each. Just got a bunch hanging up to dry.

@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.

Not true. I know many, many teenagers in high schools who don't wear make up.