Camila Cabello has teamed up with the Movement Voter Fund to launch the Healing Justice Project, which will give mental health support to frontline activists.
Camila Cabello
The ‘Havana’ hitmaker has partnered with the non-profit organisation – which helps fund local activism projects across America – to set up her own project, which will support 10 organisations by giving them grants to help pay for mental health resources for their frontline workers.
Camila has donated the seed money for the project herself, and has also matched all the funds raised for it to date, with the first grant round totalling nearly $250,000.
The initial cohort of organisations will each receive grants to cover six months’ worth of mental healthcare for their activist workers, and each charity has the discretion to spend the money on resources that address its individual needs and are “culturally competent,” meaning that providers are knowledgeable about the anti-racist framework to understand racial trauma.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Camila said: “I’ve spent a lot of time over the last couple of years, and especially this past year home during the pandemic, in constant reflection, learning and exploring the ways I have contributed to systems and beliefs that actively oppress others.
“I’ve realized there’s so much more I can and must do to support others who are doing the work to heal our communities … Grassroots organizers are faced with the exhaustion, emotional burden and trauma that comes with fighting against inequitable systems. Our hope is to offer access to the necessary support they may need as they continue their critical work advocating for social justice.”
The ’Senorita’ singer will also use her social media platforms to amplify the 10 grant recipients, as well as working to raise general awareness among the public about the psychological and emotional burnout that activists face.
The 10 recipients of Camila’s grants are: Black Leaders Organising Communities, Faith for Justice, Freedom Inc., Living United for Change in Arizona, Mass Liberation Arizona, MN350, Muslim Women For, QLatinx, Southerners on New Ground, and Student Advocacy Centre of Michigan.
Camila worked with the Movement Voter Fund to select the charities, each of whom were chosen because they are located in regions that have recently been at the epicentres of major racial, social or electoral justice activism.
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