COMMUNITY PROFILE CREDIT: GILES CLASEN JUSTICE NECESSARY: ADDRESSING PERIOD POVERTY IN COLORADO BY GRACE THORBURN DIANE CUSHMAN NEAL WAS ADMITTED into a Denver hospital with cystic fibrosis and after several weeks, came out of it with the news the condition had damaged her lungs. She would need a double lung transplant to survive. This was in March 2020, just a few days before COVID-19 began sweeping the country. “The world stopped,” she recalled in an interview with Denver VOICE. “So, I came home and said, ‘How are we going to do this during a respiratory pandemic?’” Cushman Neal said that she thought about her situation and realized that instead of worrying, she should put her talents into advocating for positive change and helping others rather than focusing on her problems. With that, she decided to take action. This is not an unusual approach for Cushman Neal, who said her family describes her as having relentless determination and a knack for generating ideas, which has motivated her to take on various philanthropic projects throughout her life. Cushman Neal’s initial passion for change-making in the community was sparked as a youth when she volunteered at food pantries, and since then, her desire to help others has continued to blossom. As Denver and other cities locked down during the peak of the pandemic, news stories reported that newly out-ofwork families were rushing to food pantries. It occurred to Cushman Neal that if kids weren’t in school, due to the pandemic, it meant they weren’t getting free lunches or breakfasts, and families were going hungry. When Cushman Neal offered to help her local pantry, she learned about an even bigger issue. Not only was lack of food a problem, but as the pantry workers explained, feminine hygiene products were scarce. According to the pantry staff, when a woman came in looking for period products, there was only a small supply of tampons or pads. Cushman Neal said this made her wonder if feminine hygiene was overlooked, how were menstruating girls and women going to cope? Cushman Neal recognized that when a mother faces challenges accessing period products, that need often extends to difficulties in obtaining diapers for their children. That situation can lead parents to prioritize their children’s needs over their own. “[I] made this pact in my head that I was going to get [the pantry] a year’s worth of products anonymously and help them get through the pandemic,” Cushman Neal said. “In doing so, I had this epiphany that if someone doesn’t have PHOTO COURTESY OF JUSTICENECESSARY.ORG 6 DENVER VOICE February 2024
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