Title V Grant Will Provide Personal Health Items for Sul Ross Students

By Gisselle Rueda, Skyline Reporter

ALPINE- After months of absence, Sul Ross students will regain access to free menstrual products and condoms courtesy of a $2,700 Title V grant. Dispensers filled with these items will be placed in each of the 52 restrooms located in the University Center mall. 

The innovative initiative, initially privately funded, was hailed by students. But funds ran out quickly and the baskets located in bathrooms across campus sat empty for several weeks. 

The initiative was originally started in the fall semester of 2022, and the need for such items was made apparent by their quick disappearance. Savanna Williamson, coordinator of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, paid out of pocket to restock the baskets containing these personal items. Recently, the baskets have not been able to be filled due to a lack of funds and time. 

A grant was provided for Sul Ross with the aid of Title V. Title V supports the Office for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion by using federal funds to fulfill their needs. The grant will allow for the replacement of the current baskets with dispensers.  

The dispensers will provide menstrual and sexual products. There is no certain date for when the dispensers will be added into the restrooms. Williamson says that the dispensers will hopefully be placed in the restrooms before Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. 

For now, the products will still only be available in the U.C. area, although there are still plans to expand the accommodation into other bathrooms.

“The goal is to have it in every bathroom,” said Dani Bell, coordinator of health services. 

When the dispensers run out of items, health services will ask for more funds to obtain the required resources, said Dani Bell, SRSU health services coordinator.  

If the dispensers are lacking special items, students can contact the office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion to request those not included in the dispensers. Whether it’s female condoms or latex free condoms, the ODEI will accommodate those with special requests, said Williamson.