HOUSTON – Rapper Travis Scott announced the launch of a multi-tier community effort in the Houston area in a social media post that references the Astroworld Festival tragedy. Ten people were killed in Houston last November at the festival.
On Instagram, his latest post reads:
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“Over the past few months I’ve been taking the time and space to grieve, reflect and do my part to heal my community. Most importantly, I want to use my resources and platform moving forward towards actionable change. This will be a lifelong journey for me and my family.
“While it’s easy for corporations and institutions to stay in the shadows, I feel as a leader in my community, I need to step up in times of need. My team and I created Project HEAL to take much needed action towards supporting real solutions that make all events the safest spaces they can possibly be. I will always honor the victims of the Astroworld tragedy who remain in my heart forever.
“Giving back and creating opportunities for the youth is something I’ve always done and will continue to do as long as I have the chance. This program will be a catalyst to real change and I can’t wait to introduce the rest of the technology and ideas we’ve been working on. See you all so soon 🤎🤎🤎”
In response to Scott’s post, khloekardashian shared multiple brown heart emojis on his Instagram page.
The post references Project HEAL, an effort Scott’s representation announced Tuesday that touts $5 million for a “multi-tier, long-term series of community-focused philanthropy and investment efforts.”
The Project HEAL effort is through a partnership with the Cactus Jack Foundation. The project includes a scholarship program managed by the Waymon Webster Scholarship Fund that will grant $10,000 scholarships to seniors who have reached academic excellence (averaging 3.5 or higher GPA) but who are facing the last-minute challenge of financial adversity in their second semester senior year – and risk not graduating. The scholarships will help 100 students. Applications are now open online at cactusjack.foundation.
A news release about the donation noted, “This is the second year that Scott has supported HBCUs and represents a tenfold increase.”
Scott’s effort also aims to provide free mental health resources through digital counseling and telephone hotlines with licensed professional counselors and social workers. A news release from Scott’s representation said Houston-based behavioral health expert, Janice Beal, will lead the effort with Scott’s support.
The news release also notes a “seven-figure expansion” of the CACT.US Youth Design Center at TXRX Labs in Houston, a nonprofit makerspace for young artists, designers, tech innovators. The design center opened on Nov. 3, 2021 -- two days before Astroworld Festival began -- by Cactus Jack Foundation.
“HEAL will fund a new comprehensive creative design education program for the center – existing where fashion, art, technology, and music intersect – through a strategic online partnership with a historically black college or university,” the release notes.
Scott’s news release also notes the HEAL aims to “address safety challenges for large-scale live events through funding the U.S. Conference of Mayors Task Force on Event Safety and a tech-driven device currently in development.”
“This solution is a culmination of stakeholder inputs from key experts from the tech sector, government, emergency response, event management, health, and public safety experts,” the news release said. “This will be the first time all these stakeholders will work together to most effectively address the safety challenges faced by future large-scale events, which will culminate in a comprehensive report of recommendations. HEAL will work towards advocating that this report serves as the new safety and security blueprint for all festivals and large-scale events.”
KPRC 2 is working to determine what the “tech-driven device currently in development” is and how it could potentially help.
The Houston community continues to deal with the devastation left behind after tragedy struck the Astroworld Festival on Nov. 5, 2021.
Hundreds of lawsuits are now combined into one massive case against Scott and Live Nation in connection with the Astroworld Festival. The class-action represents nearly 2,800 alleged victims which claim that Live Nation, Scott and other organizers were legally negligent in how they planned and conducted the festival. The alleged victims are seeking billions of dollars in damages.
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