Relief Resources for the Black Community – AdHoc

Relief Resources for the Black Community

A growing list of national and New York-based resources that support the Black community.

On October 24, New York City entered its 150th day of Black Lives Matter protests. This milestone is important not just because it demonstrates the resolve of the protesters around the United States, but because it helps to remind us what we are fighting for, how far we’ve come, and how far we’ve yet to go. Months ago, the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd became the center of the most recent wave of BLM protests, spawning a global movement that would inspired others to confront injustice in their own countries—such as the #ENDSARS movement in Nigeria. Today, those protests continue as Black people continue to be murdered and brutalized by the police; just earlier this week, Philadelphia police shot Walter Wallace Jr. after his family called 911 for medical assistance because he was experiencing a mental health crisis. Wallace’s death comes just days after Marcellis Stinnette was shot and killed by police in Waukegan, Illinois. The continuous protests in cities around the country are both a reminder and a warning: Black people are still under attack, and as long as this continues, people will take to the streets. No justice, no peace.

As we imagine the next 150 days, it remains essential that we center, support, and protect Black people in their fight for liberation. But it’s not enough to just fight for a better future; allies should also ask each other what we can do now to help change the material conditions of Black people in the United States. We can build the world we want to see, one where resources are distributed equitably regardless of race, gender, sexuality, ability, or religion—and we can start building this better future now. 150 days of protests is nothing compared to a lifetime of enduring racist violence, and as allies we must commit our lives to ending structural racism. To commemorate the past 150 days of struggle and prepare for the next 150, AdHoc has pulled together a list of resources that are helping build a better future for the Black community.

This list builds upon our list of ways to stand in solidarity with the Black community, with a focus on national and New York-based resources for healing and mutual aid. While this list is primarily concerned with centralizing active resources for Black people, non-Black allies are also encouraged to look through and donate to any of the organizations or funds listed in order to ensure that these resources can continue to meet community needs. In this list you will find everything from free therapy to herbal care packages, as well as a list of organizations to connect with. 

Do you know of any funds, organizations, or services that are working to aid the Black community? Please email us at editorial@adhoc.fm

National Resources

Free or Discounted Services

Service: Free Therapy for Women of Color
Provider: DRK Beauty Healing
Description: A clinician directory by DRK Healing that lists therapists providing free services to women of color. Make sure to check the availability of therapists by state.
Link: https://thisisdrkbeauty.com/healing-directory/ 

Service: Free self-care packages for Black people
Organization: Self Love To Your Door
Description: Free packages for black people that support black-owned businesses. Allies can donate to support this initiative by Venmoing @SelfLoveTo-YourDoor.
Link: https://www.instagram.com/selflovetoyourdoor/

Service: Free and Sliding Scale Wellness Coaching for Queer BIPOC
Provider: @book.of.iris. on Instagram
Description: Pay with donations of your choice to Black and Pink, The Okra Project, or Black Women’s Blueprint. DM @book.of.iris. for a variety of services including stress coaching and mindfulness, healthy habits and lifestyle, and routine and personal potential. First come first serve.
Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBTKOPEnO4U/

Service: Free plant-based care
Provider: Herbal Mutual Aid Network
Description: A grassroots organization providing free plant-based care for Black People seeking support due to the ongoing crisis of racial violence + injustice.
Link: http://hman.love/

Service: Free gc2b chest binders
Provider: Binder Drive
Description: The Binder Drive provides FREE gc2b chest binders to Black Trans and Gender Non-Conforming folx in the United States. It started as a used binder giveaway on Instagram, and through crowdfunding efforts has raised over $100,000 and funded over 2,800 free binders for Black TGNC folx.
Link: https://www.binderdrive.com/

Service: Free self defense classes and more
Provider: Black Woman Defense Fund
Description: Black Woman Defense is dedicated to self-defense and mental health resources for Black women.
Link: http://instagram.com/blackwomandefense 

Service: Resources to help overcome addiction
Provider: Addiction Resources
Description: This is a guide on racial injustices experienced in substance use treatment. Addiction resources helps those who are struggling with addiction by connecting them with information, facilities, and other useful assets. 
Link: https://www.addictionresource.net/racial-disparities-addiction-treatment/

Funds, Grants, and other Applications:

Name: COVID-19 Relief Fund
Organization: Marsha P. Johnson Institute
Description: MPJI’s COVID-19 Relief Fund will provide $500 to Black transgender or non-binary identified people. As our commitment is to always center the needs of those beyond the margins, priority will be given to Black trans women and those who have experience as sex workers, formerly incarcerated, and other vulnerable community members.
Link: bit.ly/mpji-relief
Due Date: November 1st, 2020

Name: Exiled Tongues 2020 Artist-in-Residency Program
Organization: Exiled Tongues
Description: In order to support emerging artists of color, Exiled Tongues is providing $200 microgrants to artists of color who articulate a new, inclusive path forward for American theater in 2021 and beyond. Grants are unrestricted and can be used for anything. Artists must only comply with residency goals.  
Link: https://rayjordanachan.com/exiled-tongues
Due Date: October 31st, 2020

Name: Black Owned Business Fund
Organization: Art Hoe Collective
Description: Provides aid to Black-owned Businesses affected by the protests. Apply to arthoecoreps@gmail.com to be considered to receive aid. Please send them your business name, photos of your store, and at least a paragraph describing your need along with a breakdown of how funds will be used.
Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/CDHjvkzgWIM/
Due Date: Rolling

Name: Arts and Cultural Leaders Emergency Fund
Organization: Arts Administrators of Color
Description: This emergency fund can provide a one-time microgrant of up to $200 for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) artists AND administrators (consultants, facilitators, box office staff, seasonal/temporary employees, etc.) who have been financially impacted due to COVID-19.
Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfv4AazvLFVUNAgXoxqBqfZ7jJVkrMroa-CET6Vt6XygR-CaQ/viewform
Due Date: Rolling

Name: Trans Lifeline Microgrants
Organization: Trans Lifeline
Description: For trans and nonbinary people to cover the costs of updating and correcting names and/or gender markers on identifying legal documents. In order to distribute funds more equitably, 75% of microgrants each cycle are reserved for TBIPOC (trans Black, Indigenous, people of color).
Link: https://translifeline.org/microgrants
Due Date: Application opens twice a month. The next Microgrant application cycle opens on November 1st, 2020 @ 12:00pm. 

Name: Mutual Aid Fund for Black LGBTQ+ Youth
Organization: Run by Amirio (@plantasia_barrino) and Lincoln (@lincolnmondy)
Description: A fund to provide Black LGBTQ+ Youth (16-24) with immediate funds for meals, protest supplies, rent assistance, or whatever they want until the fund runs out.
Link: https://msha.ke/emptyyourvenmo/
Due Date: Rolling

Name: The Black Book Fund
Organization: N/A, run by Fayola Fair, @fi.i.fair on IG
Description: The Black Books Fund provides books by Black authors, from Black bookstores, to Black folks. By filling out the form below (which takes about 5 minutes), you will be added to a running list to receive a book.
Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScEy-Cg8SMrT0W0kblsI9Se7d9FGT2o8tsFI5DFTANniaWYFw/viewform
Deadline: Rolling

Name: #NBAForward Artist Project Fund
Organization: National Black Arts
Description: In response to COVID-19, NBAF (National Black Arts) is launching a fund starting at $5000 to support Black Artists in getting back to work. If you are a Black artist who makes a living off their work and your project has been canceled, we want to hear from you. If you have an art project in the works that has had to be postponed and you want to pivot in a new direction and need help, let us know.
Link:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe33gEQAUX2xmWirkzQG6sUcP_c4Xz4x0BOD05grvUCiCQfEA/viewform
Due Date: Rolling 

Name: Loveland Therapy Fund
Organization: The Loveland Foundation
Description: With the barriers affecting access to treatment by members of diverse ethnic and racial groups, Loveland Therapy Fund provides financial assistance to Black women and girls nationally seeking therapy.
Link: https://thelovelandfoundation.org/loveland-therapy-fund/
Due Date: Waitlist has opened for the 2020 Summer/Fall Cohort.

Name: The Validation Project Mini-Grant
Organization: The Validation Project
Description: These mini-grants of up to $400 are for BIPOC activists ages 13-25.
Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc3Fq_xBQ3ga_qG0ldmABrY5AN_QIwr9M_dq8Sm3wArfwaP_g/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0
Due Date: Next grant program opens January 2021. 

Organizations:

Organization: Therapy for Black Girls
Description: Therapy for Black Girls is an online space dedicated to encouraging the mental wellness of Black women and girls.
Link: https://therapyforblackgirls.com/ 

Organization: Ethel’s Club
Description: An online community designed for people of color to thrive through workshops, wellness sessions and live concerts from the comfort of home.
Link: https://www.ethelsclub.com/

Organization: The Unplug Collective
Description: The Unplug Collective is a platform for Black women and gender-expansive people to share stories about body discrimination, mental health and more.
Link: https://theunplugcollective.com/ 

Name: Fuel the People
Description: Fuel the People works to provide nourishment to protestors on the front lines, support local Black and POC-owned restaurants and businesses, and donate to local organizations who work tirelessly to support Black liberation.
Link: https://www.fuelthepeople.com 

Name: The Marsha P. Johnson Institute
Description: The Marsha P. Johnson Institute (MPJI) protects and defends the human rights of BLACK transgender people. They do this by organizing, advocating, creating an intentional community to heal, and developing transformative leadership.
Link: https://marshap.org/workshops-and-programs/ 

Name: Gays and Lesbians Living In a Transgender Society (G.L.I.T.S.)
Description: G.L.I.T.S. approach the health and rights crises faced by transgender sex workers holistically using harm reduction, human rights principles, economic and social justice, along with a commitment to empowerment and pride in finding solutions from the community.
Link: https://www.glitsinc.org/ 

Name: Black Transwomen Inc.
Description: Black Transwomen, Inc (BTWI) is a national nonprofit organization established to specifically address the urgent concerns facing African American trans women in minority communities.
Link: https://blacktranswomen.org/ 

Name: Black Trans Femmes in the Arts
Description: The mission of the BTFA Collective is to connect the community of Black trans women and non-binary femmes in the arts & to build power among ourselves.
Link: https://www.instagram.com/btfacollective 

Name: Trans Women of Color Collective
Description: Trans Women of Color Collective (TWOCC) was created to cultivate economic opportunities and affirming spaces for trans people of color and our families, to foster kinship, build community, engage in healing and restorative justice through arts, culture, media, advocacy and activism.
Link: https://www.twocc.us/ 

Name: Center for Black Equity
Description: The Center for Black Equity aims to promote a multinational LGBTQ+ network dedicated to improving health and wellness opportunities, economic empowerment, and equal rights while promoting individual and collective work, responsibility, and self-determination.
Link: https://centerforblackequity.org/ 

Name: Black Mental Health guide 
Description: Sunshine Behavioral Health’s goal is to help as many people as possible in their struggles with substance abuse. The folks of Sunshine Behavioral Health have put together a comprehensive guide on mental health and the challenges faced by those in the Black community.    
Link: https://www.sunshinebehavioralhealth.com/mental-health-issues-facing-the-black-community/

New York Resources

Free and Discounted Services:

Service: Free herbal care packages for Black people in NYC
Organization: 69herbs
Description: Packages currently include: herbal drops (100% alcohol-free) for grief & trauma, herbal drops for anxiety, and a loose nervine herbal tea. DM to request with your info and they will coordinate until they run out and can restock. Available as no contact delivery or pick-up.
Link: https://www.instagram.com/69herbs/ 

Service: Free Virtual Support Group for Queer & Trans People of Color (in the NYC tri-state area)
Organization: Institute for Human Identity
Description: An online therapeutic space faciliated by a Queer BIPOC clinician for Queer and Trans BIPOC folks to process navigating life and healing at the intersections of multiple marginalized identities.
Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBE2Zhul6Ee/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link 

Service: Private car rides for Black trans women
Organization: Black Trans Travel Fund
Description: The Black Trans Travel Fund is a grassroots, mutual aid based organization developed for the purpose of providing Black transgender women in NY and NJ with the financial resources necessary for them to be able to self-determine and access their safest travel options.
Link: https://www.blacktranstravelfund.com/ 

Service: Free self-defense safety kits
Organization: Femme Defense Fund
Description: The Femme Defense Fund provides women and femmes in NYC with self-defense safety kits, esp prioritizing Black women and femmes, specifically Black trans women and sex workers. Note: Sign-ups are temporarily closed, but will open again.
Link: https://www.instagram.com/femmedefensefund/ 

Funds, Grants, and other Applications:

Name: NYC Trans & Queer Metrocard Fund
Organization: N/A, founded by Kat Griffin
Description: The fund is a donation based fundraiser for New York City based Trans and Queer folks in need of financial support to afford public transit. Aid will be given in the form of $35.00 increments to all who are eligible on a first come first serve basis with priority given to BIPOC & TGNC folks.
Link: https://www.nycmetrocardfund.com/donation-application
Due Date: The form will open and close as the donation pool grows and decreases with each wave of recipients.

Name: Silent Partners Grant
Organization: Silent Partners
Description: Silent Partners provides monthly $1,000 grants to Black Brooklyn-based artists and Movement workers. The grants are administered by a panel of Black leaders using funds provided by anonymous white partners who are otherwise removed from the process. Applications for October are open now.
Link: https://www.silent-partners.net/
Due Date: Each month, Silent Partners issues two $1,000 grants. The application window will remain open all month or until 100 total applications come in––get your application in as soon as you can. 

Name: Medical Fund
Organization: For The Gworls
Description: FTG wants to help any Black trans person in NJ/NY that is experiencing any or all of the above. They’ve launched an emergency relief fund that will SPECIFICALLY provide funds to Black trans people to pay for a ride to/from wherever they fill their prescriptions + co-pays if they need assistance. They’ve also recently announced housing assistance for Black queer/trans folks in NYC.
Link: http://tinyurl.com/FTGMedicalFund
Due Date: Rolling 

Name: Emergency Release Fund
Organization: Emergency Release Fund
Description: The mission of the Emergency Release Fund is to ensure that no trans person at risk in New York City jails remains in detention before trial. If ​cash bail is set for a trans person in New York City and no bars to release are in place, ​bail will be paid by the Emergency Release Fund.
Link: https://emergencyreleasefund.com/ 
Due Date: Rolling

Organizations:

Name: Black Lives Matter of Greater New York
Description: BLMNY’s vision is to directly impact the policies that impact conditions focusing on: criminal justice reform, basic public safety, fair and equal access to education, jobs & infrastructure. Through grassroots organizing and direct action, BLMNY will serve as a resounding voice for the underserved and disenfranchised. We want to thrive not survive #BlacklivesmatterNY #BLMNY.
Link: https://www.blacklivesmattergreaterny.com/ 

Name: The Audre Lorde Project
Description: The Audre Lorde Project is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color community organizing center, focusing on the New York City area.
Link: https://alp.org/ 

Name: Black Women’s Blueprint
Description: We work to place Black women and girls’ lives, as well as their particular struggles, squarely within the context of the larger racial justice concerns of Black communities.Link: https://www.blackwomensblueprint.org/ 

Name: Freedom Arts Movement
Description: Freedom Arts Movement is a collective of artists and community members who seek to build grassroots power in our New York City communities while reintroducing art / culture making to the community. This means they will use their resources to invest in our community that has been denied access to things like quality education, arts programs, mental health programs, a non-punitive justice system and much more.
Link: https://www.freedomartsmovement.com/ 

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