The Luxury of Toilet Paper

Most people in the United States don’t think of toilet paper as a luxury, in fact most people don’t think about toilet paper at all unless it is to criticize a roommate or spouse on the proper orientation of the roll (the loose square should hang over the roll by the way). Unfortunately for many of our nation’s poor and elderly populations toilet paper is a precious commodity.

Like most, I was completely unaware of this problem until I started volunteering for Helping Hand of Vegas Valley. Helping Hands is a non-profit that provides assistive services to senior citizens to allow them to maintain their independence. While the main goal of Helping Hands is to provide transportation to medical appointments, shopping assistance, and respite care vouchers the organization also runs a food pantry for seniors in need. Twice a month, volunteers such as myself deliver food products to seniors in need around the Las Vegas Valley. Every so often the food delivery includes paper products such as toilet paper, napkins, and paper towels. While the folks who are getting the deliveries are certainly in need of food, they relish the paper products. At first I didn’t think much of the reactions to the paper products, but delivery after delivery, people commented the most about how excited they were to recieve toilet paper.

My realization occurred a couple months ago when an old lady exclaimed that she had been without toilet paper fore more than a month. She then continued to go on and on about how excited she was to have toilet paper again and how difficult it was to stay clean without toilet paper or a washing machine. Her enthusiasm for toilet paper made me realize how essential a small white roll of thin paper is to most American lives. The majority of elderly people I deliver food to generally live alone and I expect often have a difficult time showering or bathing because of their age and health. Additionally, most of the folks that receive deliveries from Helping Hands don’t have easy access to laundry facilities and are therefore left with few options to easily maintain sanitary conditions in their bathroom. After doing some research (googling) I discovered that food stamps/SNAP benefits do not allow for the purchase of paper products to include toilet paper and adult diapers. While I understand that these benefits are intended to ensure people in need have enough food to eat it highlights that toilet paper is truly a luxury expense.

This week’s food delivery did not include any paper products. There were several customers who were hopeful that I would be delivering not only much needed food, but also paper products and most importantly toilet paper. Their disappointment about the lack of paper products in this week’s delivery was evident in nearly all of the homes I visited this week.

With the holiday season right around the corner many folks who find they are able will commendably donate to some sort of food drive or pantry to help provide a holiday meal for the needy. If you are organizing one of these events my plea is that you consider adding paper products to the list of items you will collect and distribute. On the flip side, if you volunteer in a food pantry, or even donate to some sort of food drive (check out @hhovv if you are in the Las Vegas area) I implore you to consider including in a couple rolls of toilet paper with your donation because while it may not seem like a luxury to you, it may make someone else’s month.

Image credit: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/toilet-paper.htm