Residents can now pick up free pads and tampons at libraries and other council venues across Southend-on-Sea, Essex, as part of a city-wide effort to make essential health items easier to access. The Red Relief Scheme, led by Southend-on-Sea City Council, provides these products across council-owned venues to reduce period poverty and ensure cost is not a barrier to participation in daily life.
The service is available at five key library branches — The Forum, Kent Elms, Leigh, Southchurch and Westcliff — which act as primary hubs for the programme. Products are housed in discrete dispensers in female and gender-neutral/accessible toilets so users do not need to ask staff for assistance.
The initiative grew from a youth-led campaign (the Southend Youth Council / Make Your Mark ballot), which identified the cost of menstrual products as a major barrier for young people. The scheme began as a pilot (announced in autumn 2025 as a nine-venue trial originating from activity that started in late 2024) and was expanded to 13 council venues by early 2026 in response to demand and youth campaigning.
According to Southend-on-Sea City Council, the programme is supported by council funding. A council spokesperson said the Red Relief Scheme is an important part of the council’s support for young people and helps make essential health products more accessible in community hubs such as libraries.
For more information and a full list of participating venues, see the council’s Red Relief/Make Your Mark pages.
About this article: This story was put together with the help of AI tools and checked by a real person on our team. We're a small crew trying to cover as much of the UK as we can on a limited budget. We're getting better every day - but we're not perfect yet. If something looks off, let us know. You're part of the process.
