![]() ![]() To honor #NinaPop, #TonyMcDade, and the many Black Trans people who been murdered by state-sanctioned violence, The Okra Project is dedicating $15,000 to create the Nina Pop Mental Health Recovery Fund and the Tony McDade Mental Health Recovery Fund. Stewart said since the creation of the funds, the collective has raised on average $100,000 a day, solely in individual donations. ![]() The overwhelming majority of those killed were black women, according to the report. The funds pay for black trans people to take part in one-time mental health therapy sessions with licensed black therapists.Īt least 26 trans or gender non-conforming people were fatally shot or killed by other violent means in 2019, according to a report released by The Human Rights Campaign Foundation in November. The collective also established two mental health recovery funds at the end of May in the wake of the killings of Nina Pop, Tony McDade and other black trans people, a press release states. The fund has sent grocery money to over 1,000 people as of June. The collective has continued to send $40 grants to black trans people worldwide so they can purchase food if they are "experiencing emergency food shortages" through its International Grocery Fund, according to the collective's site. It has provided food bags and funds for groceries, among other contributions. The coronavirus pandemic has put a pause on the collective's ability to provide meals and food services, but that doesn't mean The Okra Project has stopped serving its community. Because we got everybody." An Okra Project bartender and chef prepare food and drinks in a kitchen. Come on, let us do for you.' And whoever that person is that can't afford it - we got them too. "But also, as I keep on reminding folks every time, like, 'Nah, we'll serve you. "There's such a generosity of spirit in our community and such a kindness and a love for each other and a looking out for people that you don't know and looking out for people that you may never meet, that is just really humbling and beautiful," Stewart said. Additionally, Stewart said that often when the collective reaches out to someone, that person will initially decline the meal because they want the experience to go to another person in the community instead, who they think may have more need. The service is open to all black trans people regardless of their financial standing, Stewart emphasized. "So to have the opportunity to bring someone who is you into your home, and to have them say, 'I choose you, I give you the gift of choosing you.' We have no idea what kind of ripples can happen from the simple act of just choosing someone and saying, 'You are important and you are worth doing this for.'" "So many of us sometimes can feel that we are alone or that we are the only one," said Stewart. You can read our interview with the founder of The Okra Project, Ianne Fields Stewart, here. You can visit The Okra Project’s website here. You can follow The Okra Project on Instagram and Twitter. Those who are willing and interested may donate funds AND/OR may donate one therapy session with their Black male therapist. The T ony McDade Mental Health Recovery Fund is an emergency mutual aid fund that raises money to pay for one-time mental health therapy sessions with licensed Black male therapists. The Nina Pop Mental Health Recovery Fund is an emergency mutual aid fund that raises money to pay for one-time mental health therapy sessions with licensed Black women therapists. ![]() In honor of Nina Pop, a Black trans woman who was murdered in Sikeston, Missouri in May, and Tony McDade, a Black trans man who was shot and killed by police in Tallahassee, Florida last week, and to the countless Black Trans people who been murdered by state-sanctioned violence, The Okra Project created the Nina Pop Mental Health Recovery Fund and the Tony McDade Mental Health Recovery Fund. □️□ ✊□ Please consider donating to The Okra Project, a grassroots, organizer-led initiative with the goal of fighting food insecurity in the Black Trans community. CW: Anti-Black trans death, murder, death
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |