It’s been announced that Beyoncé, through her BeyGOOD Foundation, will donate $6 million to provide mental health wellness to people during COVID-19.
The singer teamed up with Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and said she also wants to help underserved communities, who have been disproportionately affected by the disease.
“Communities of color are suffering by epic proportions due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” read a statement on Beyoncé’s website.
“Many families live in underserved areas with homes that make it harder to practice social distancing,” it continued. “Communities that were already lacking funds for education, health and housing are now faced with alarming infection rates and fatalities. And these communities lack access of testing and equitable health care.”
The donation will go to UCLA and the National Alliance in Mental Illness, as well as certain community-based organizations.
Mental health services will be rolled out in Detroit, New York, New Orleans and Beyoncé’s hometown of Houston. All of those cities are just some of the places in the U.S. where Black and brown people have been dying at significantly higher rates compared to other racial groups.
On Saturday, April 18, during her appearance on Global Citizen’s “One World: Together at Home” event, Beyoncé mentioned statistics that were reported by KHOU11, a CBS News affiliate in Texas.
According to those numbers, 57 percent of COVID-19 deaths in Houston have been Black people.
Beyoncé’s partnership with UCLA will provide people with care packages that “includes resources and tools designed to lift moods and ease anxiety and depression,” as it says on UCLA’s website.
Support will also be given to organizations like Bread of Life, World Central Kitchen, Matthew 25, Dia De La Mujer Latina and United Memorial Medical Center.
“Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD recognizes the immense mental and personal health burdens being placed on essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In our major cities, African-Americans comprise a disproportionate number of workers in these indispensable occupations, and they will need mental health support and personal wellness care, including testing and medical services, food supplies and food deliveries, both during and after the crisis,” the BeyGOOD foundation said in a statement.
