Miss Cumbria is drawing attention to stigmatised issues in the county.

Lauren Sweeney, this year’s Miss Cumbria, is using her platform to raise awareness in North Cumbria about important issues such as domestic abuse and hygiene poverty.

Over the course of her year-long tenure as Miss Cumbria, Miss Sweeney will run fundraising events and campaigns that will help those in the area who desperately need it.

Her campaign surrounding hygiene poverty will seek to help both men and women in the community by giving them the essential items they need for everyday life.

“I want to get a massive pile of donations that I can give to teenage boys and girls that are going through poverty or can’t afford to buy little essentials,” she said.

Inspired by the work being done by other key members of the community, she would like to collect and donate sanitary products to girls who may not have access to them.

The project is in its early stages of life but Miss Sweeney has worked out a few organisations that she would like to donate the products to such as Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw.

Ann Ford, organiser of Period Poverty North Cumbria, said: “Period Poverty North Cumbria & The Hug in a Bag Project were thrilled to hear that Lauren will be both raising the profile of period and hygiene poverty, but also gathering donations of sanitary products and toiletries for young people who are struggling to access these items within our community.

Prior to this project, Miss Sweeney launched a project called “Clear the Bruises” with the purpose of providing support for victims of domestic abuse.

“The name symbolises that some of the physical bruises can go but the mental ones always stay,” she said.

She is hoping that the project will empower women and men to believe that they can be brave enough to get through anything.

Miss Sweeney has got a few ideas on the fundraising events that she would like to run throughout the year to raise money for the causes.

“I would love to help as many people as I can, that’s what my goal is to do it over a good few months so I have this massive build-up of products that I can help a lot of people in the Carlisle area but also outside it as well.”