Articles
Featured: Room 437's Necessities Cabinet Provides Resources to RSHS Students
By Gwennan Pritchard
Mrs. Lord stands next to the toiletries of the cabinet. Photo Cred: Gwennan Pritchard
Rock Springs High School’s very own room 437 is home to Mrs. Lord, Miss Peters, and their free necessities cabinet, which is open to the entire student body of the high school. By providing free food and toiletries to anyone in need, the dynamic teacher duo hopes to aid students to feel more comfortable both inside and outside of the classroom.
Need in the Time of Covid-19
Room 437 opened its cabinet to the school at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year as a response to recent hardships brought on to the community by the Covid-19 pandemic. Mrs. Lord, who teaches history, recounted that, “We knew a lot of students would not have access to the basic necessities that they used to because their parents had either lost their jobs, couldn’t find new ones, or were struggling to get by. It was kind of the perfect time.”
The concerns over unemployment in the community were not unfounded. As the pandemic began to take effect in April of last year, the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services reported that the number of people claiming unemployment in Sweetwater County jumped from 360 to over 1,100 in under a month. As a way to support newly jobless families, both federal and state funds were poured into unemployment programs. Approximately $42,245,822 was spent to pay Wyoming residents between the months of March and April. Over half of these funds came from the federal CARES Act.
The economic fallout that was seen during the spring was indeed severe, but it appears as if the initial wave of layoffs was the peak of the event. By May, the rate of unemployment growth had begun to slow, and by the time the cabinet was opened in September, unemployment rates were on the downhill. In Sweetwater County, the total unemployment rate had decreased by a full percentage point, from 8.8% to 7.8%.
As the fallout of the pandemic continued to disrupt life in Rock Springs, Mrs. Lord had begun to collect items for her cabinet. She spent around $100 to get initial supplies, and she also made an Amazon wishlist. The link to this list could be shared to other people, and if they so chose, they could buy items and have the packages shipped directly to Mrs. Lord. In order to spread the word, Mrs. Lord posted the link on her Instagram account, which she uses to share content with her students: @prisonmikepillow. The link spread from Instagram, to Reddit, to IMGR.
Taking to social media turned out to be hugely successful for the cabinet efforts, with Mrs. Lord receiving over $3,000 worth of total donations by the time she edited the list to say that all of the cabinet’s needs had been fulfilled. Mrs. Lord had a look of awe on her face as she recalled the experience, “It’s insane. My husband got over 50 packages on the first day they came. My guest bedroom is full of it, nobody can sleep on the bed.” There is no worry of the cabinet running out of supplies anytime soon. Because of this, both of the teachers in room 437 urge students to use this resource.
Taken from @prisonmikepillow on Instagram. “So all of these are donations for the cabinet. As far as I know, there is still more on the way!”
Current Student Usage
The cabinet provides all items that are considered basic necessities. This includes deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, dry shampoo, chapstick, pads, tampons, socks, journals, food, and more. The stock is continuing to diversify throughout the school year, and Mrs. Lord hopes to host a winter clothing drive in the future.
As of yet, only current and previous students of Miss Peters and Mrs. Lord use the cabinet; the teachers hope for this to change in the future. Mrs. Lord claims to see one to three students grab toiletries off of the shelves of the cabinet. Most of these students are girls who need feminine products. Neither of the teachers see male students take items, which Mrs. Lord attributes to a fear of the stigma associated with the cabinet. She hopes to help reduce the stigma as time goes on and more people feel comfortable coming in to get things.
The sign posted on the top shelf of the cabinet. Photo Cred: Gwennan Pritchard
The hesitancy towards taking toiletries does not extend to the food section of the cabinet. Food runs out exponentially faster than any of the other offered items. According to Mrs. Lord, students feel more uncomfortable asking for food, but they also tend to think less about their usage.
As soon as students started heavily utilising the food, Miss Peters and Mrs. Lord began to notice a problem. The food was used and then quickly forgotten, left half-eaten on the floor or on desks. As a response to this misuse, the food was moved into a separate cabinet that is still open to all, just by request. The teachers are always willing to give more than a few snacks, so they have offered to fill bags of food for students in need.
The items in the cabinet are there so that they can be used, meaning everyone should take advantage of the generous contributions coming from room 473.