How friends, family, and food stamps help this woman with disabilities survive.

When Cassandra J. Perry was 13, a physical disability prevented her from going to school.

She had a genetic connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which means that her joints are unstable, her connective tissue is weak, she’s more prone to injuries, and she has chronic pain.

When she began living alone as an adult after splitting up with her spouse, she worried about how she’d be able to grocery shop.

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It's time to rethink how we view families on food stamps. These programs show why.

Unlimited fruits and veggies, breakfast, and after-school supper. These Vermont schools serve it all — for free.

No matter what, all students in Burlington, Vermont, get breakfast, even in the hallway if they’re running late to class. They can load up on as many fresh, locally sourced fruits and vegetables as they want.

In other words, these kids don’t have to worry about being hungry during the school day: The Burlington School Food Project runs a free meals program for every child to make sure of that.

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Where one woman found necessary support after a cancer diagnosis.

Natasha Rossi believed she had the perfect life.

She had two awesome kids — two and a half-year-old identical twins — and the love and support of her boyfriend, Desi. Life, she thought, could only get better.

All photos via Upworthy/Walgreens.

Then, in January 2019, she was hit with some of the hardest news that anyone can hear.

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Menstrual hygiene is costly for people and the planet. But it doesn’t have to be.

"Period poverty" — being unable to regularly afford menstrual hygiene products — affects people around the world.

For the millions living in poverty, affording menstrual products is a huge challenge. And it's not just those living in developing countries who struggle. Advocacy group Plan International estimates that 1 in 10 girls in the U.K. — a wealthy, developed nation — are unable to afford sanitary products. In the U.S., 42 million women live at or near the poverty line, and since many public benefit programs consider menstrual products "luxuries," menstrual hygiene is unaffordable.

Countries are battling period poverty in various ways. India recently eliminated its 12% "luxury tax" on sanitary pads and tampons after a widespread campaign put pressure on the government.

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