Behind The Scenes - The Hygiene Bank
THE HYGIENE BANK
In the UK, over 14 million people live in poverty (pre-COVID) - that is one fifth of our population and two thirds of those defined as living in poverty are in work. We speak to Lorna and Katy of the Hygiene Bank to find out more about how we can help.
What is the hygiene bank? Could you tell us a bit about its history and when it started up In Harpenden & St. Albans?
The Hygiene Bank is a grassroots, people-powered charity and social movement, grounded in community. Our passion stems from the injustice that people may be unable to fully participate in society due to hygiene poverty. We believe it is not right that feeling clean should be a luxury or a privilege for anyone in our society, yet many are living in poverty and cannot afford to stay clean. That is why our network of projects exists – to give people access to the basics they need.
The Hygiene Bank's story started late in 2018 when our Founder Lizzy Hall watched the film ‘I Daniel Blake' by Ken Loach. It’s a moving and harrowing film that exposes the harsh realities of those in our society who fall through the cracks. Buying the basics like period products, shampoo, toothpaste or deodorant when we need them is something most of us take for granted. For many on a low-income however, especially those who rely on food banks, these essential products have become out of reach luxuries. Illness, disability, family breakdown or loss of a job can leave people destitute, and these unplanned events can happen to anyone.
The Hygiene Bank Harpenden and St. Albans was set-up in February 2019 and has expanded from one lady operating from her car with one donation point to a team of volunteers working from Emmaus in Harpenden thanks to their generosity. There are 10 donation points currently open and 21 active community partners across both towns. In 2020, we donated 8500kg to those most in need locally.
How serious an issue is hygiene poverty? Do you have any statistics to share with our community?
It is serious! But rarely spoken about. Hygiene poverty is not being able to afford many of the everyday hygiene and personal grooming products most of us take for granted. The reality of low income is that it restricts people’s options, leaving us caught between being able to heat our homes, pay the rent, eat or be clean. We know that long before people visit a food bank, they give up hygiene essentials. It can lead to a lack of confidence and can negatively affect good health and mental well-being which can impact early childhood development, learning, employability and social interaction.
In the UK, over 14 million people live in poverty - that is one fifth of our population - and two thirds of those defined as living in poverty are in work. These stats are pre-COVID and we know that things have got worse over the last year.
How does the hygiene bank process work?
It’s quite simple…
Collect - People and businesses collect and donate products. Brands and retailers also give us unused or repackaged products. We also distribute for some buy one / give one brands.
Drop Off - Products are taken to Hygiene Bank drop-off locations.
Sort - Volunteers collect and sort donations.
Box Up - Products are repackaged and sorted according to the different needs of our community partners.
Deliver - Volunteers load their cars and take donations to local community partners. These are local organisations, services, charities and projects working to support children, families and individuals in need.
Distribute - Our community partners distribute the donated products to their clients and service users.
How many drop off points do you have in St. Albans and where?
Due to COVID restrictions, at present, we have drop-offs open at Boots on St Peters Street and Colney Fields Retail Park, Budgens Marshalswick and Jade Pharmacy, St Peters Street. If people prefer to avoid the shops and donate directly to us, they can get in touch at thbstalbans@gmail.com.
You work with charities to get the hygiene products to the right people, can you tell us a bit more on how this works?
We work with a wide variety of community partners including food banks, schools, community groups, homeless charities etc. We ask them for information about the number of clients they have and products they will and won’t accept and we start donating! If you think your organisation could benefit from our help, please get in touch.
Are there any specific items you would like to see more donations of?
Although we accept any hygiene item - ‘if you use it, someone else will too!’ - our main focus is basics. Supermarket own brand is great, as are generic items that can be used by men, women and families. At the moment, we are particularly short of smaller size shampoos, deodorants and toothbrushes, but we won’t turn anything away and we have never been donated a product that we haven’t been able to find a home for! All we ask is that the items are new and unused - except for nappies, where we accept open packets.
Can you give us an example of community spirit that you have seen with regards to supporting the Hygiene bank during lockdown?
Support from our local community has been amazing! Throughout the pandemic, we have been overwhelmed by the generosity of people who have rallied around to arrange collections in their streets, donated via our Easho and Amazon Wishlist’s (I think we received 37 amazon parcels on just one day!) or donated money via JustGiving page so that we could buy what we needed when we needed it. Despite shops only being open for essential shopping for most of the past year, we continue to receive loads of donations via our drop-off boxes. A quick shout out too to our volunteers - we really appreciate them and couldn’t do it without them!
Hygiene poverty is a problem we can solve together. if people wish to volunteer what should they do?
At present, we have enough volunteers in Harpenden and St. Albans but we are looking for someone to take on the existing Hemel Hempstead project. We do keep a list though of anyone interested so people should check out the volunteers’ section of our website.
Are there any messages you wish to give to businesses, schools or community groups out there about the importance of hygiene banks and how to get involved?
Together, hygiene poverty is something we can tackle and we know that the work we do really does make a difference to the people who receive items from us. Thank you to all those schools and businesses locally who have supported us by hosting a permanent donation box, or have done a one-off collection for us. If your school, business or community group would like to get involved, please do get in touch thbharpenden@gmail.com or thbstalbans@gmail.com. We know things are tricky at present, but we can always plan for the future!