It’s just a cabinet. A plain gray cabinet.
But to some students at Johnstown High School, it’s a lifesaver. Inside are toothbrushes, deodorant, laundry detergent, socks, hairbrushes and other hygiene items that can be expensive or hard to come by for some young people.
The cabinet is part of the Hygiene Hub project supported by the United Way of Licking County. There is a similar cabinet in every high school in the county.
Shannon Cox, the Johnstown High School Student Support Specialist, was key in the installation of these cabinets.
“In the short time that we’ve had it, you have been able to see kids use it for things like deodorant as well as laundry pods and hairbrushes,” Cox said. “To them, they are able to take care of those needs themselves and they are able to be much more independent.”
The hubs are especially important for high school students in Licking County public schools whose parents or guardians are employed but are barely making ends meet.
They fall into an income group known as “ALICE,” which stands for “asset limited, income constrained, employed,” meaning that they are below the line of income needed to sustain themselves and their family, but above the Ohio poverty line. In 2024, 37% of Licking County citizens were below the ALICE threshold.
Luellen Deeds, the Volunteer and Outreach Director of United Way Licking County, started the Hygiene Hub program in 2024 to provide the basic hygiene items students need to be successful all day long, not just at school.
“When you’re a student and you don’t have access to basic needs, it really compromises your mental and physical health and plays a role in whether you go to school or not,” Deeds said.
The community plays an important role in sustaining these hubs.
“We put the word out, and many small businesses started running hygiene hubs, also nursing homes and some hospitals, as well as other students in the high schools,” Deeds said.
Some of the cabinets have been donated by Home Depot.
At Johnstown High School, where 19% of the students are from families that fall under the ALICE income line, the hygiene hub has been a blessing.
Cox said that although the cabinets full of necessities were built for students, they are helping whole families. When kids bring items home for their siblings and parents, it allows them to use money that would be spent on hygiene items for other priorities.
“Although it may only be 5 dollars, that could go to their gas tank rather than shampoo,” Cox said.
The Hygiene Hub, Cox said, not only meets the needs of students, but it also empowers them.
Ellen Hansen writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.