Did you know Black Women are 4 x times more likely to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act (1983)? Or that Black Women are 3 x times more likely to experience a mental health issue than any other race? Launched in June 2020, ‘The Black Womens' Therapy Fund ' is a service offering black women and non-binary the opportunity to access 12 x free therapy sessions with and accredited black and brown mental health practitioners. Our trauma-informed and accredited therapists, also offer discounted rates for new clients and those wishing to continue therapy after their initial 12 sessions. We were unprepared for the overwhelming requests we received from women and non-binary people all over the UK in desperate need of therapy. Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the protests against injustices to Black people in the UK and worldwide have awakened and unearthed internalised racism, informed trauma, harrowing repressed experiences, and challenged many in our community, especially those of black women. We created this as we believe in culturally appropriate services for our community. Our people deserve increased, adequate access to timely, Black-led mental health support. In the UK, waiting lists for NHS services are up to 2 years, what we offer is a drop in the ocean. Meaning most people may fail to access services, and during this time, they can disengage and feel hopeless. This our way and putting a small dent in this need by serving as much as we can.

In the UK, for too long Black Womens' mental health has fallen off the Mental Health agenda. We want to change that with a tangible impact. We cannot ignore the fact that racism, discrimination, and socio-economic inequalities inform how we are navigating our mental wellness. Our goal is to support timely and culturally appropriate support for Black community members to mental health professionals for one on one therapy sessions. The stripping of the public health system by successive governments has left major gaps and long waits and stripped-down services that are often administered by white practitioners and not through an anti-oppressive lens, which can end up harming more than healing. Anxiety, Depression, Isolation, Domestic violence, Substance abuse, Eating disorders, Financial stress, Grief, PTSD are just some of the experiences that have been shared with us during the quarantine. The mental health impacts of COVID-19 are intense — and are lasting longer than the virus itself. We believe that black women and non-binary people deserve the right to heal and relinquish feelings of shame, guilt, and fear to create space for a new voice. The voice of self-acceptance and love undefined by their trauma. BLACK WOMEN and NON-BINARY PEOPLE MATTER. OUR MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS.

The Black Women's Therapy Fund goes towards: FREE Therapy (12 sessions per client) After this, there will be a discounted rate offered for them to continue matching their income. This includes support for mothers who require therapy for themselves and the family. Therapists Fees Paying for the emotional labour and skills of our accredited black and queer psychotherapists, counsellors, traumatologists, and art therapists. We are still recruiting more. If you're a trauma informed, accredited black therapist, please get in touch! Supervision Fees It's important that we offer our volunteer practitioners supervision, with monthly 1 x hour supervision. Once we receive more funding we aim to offer monthly group supervision (3 x practitioners per group) of 2.5 hours to our paid practitioners. Office Assistant Costs & Expenses 4 x days a month for an Office Assistant Expenses for a Social Media Intern. Management Costs & Expenses Costs that cover the founders time, project management, recruitment and service delivery.

Our target is currently £20,000-£35,000 to make this project sustainable into next year. Over 6 years we have witnessed 1,214 women and non-binary people across the UK, NYC, Berlin, Kenya and Oman step into their power, sharing their bodies and stories of shame, courage, vulnerability, trauma and reclamation. We have done this both in real life sessions and more recently online. We want to serve as many of our community as possible and continue to be inundated, with responses to access therapy. You can make a Donation through our Go Fund Me Page : Our Naked Truths Collective Healing Fund (https://www.gofundme.com/f/our-naked-truths-collective-healing-fund)(https://www.gofundme.com/f/our-naked-truths-collective-healing-fund) Thank you very much in advance for your contribution. It will make a difference to the lives and stories of the women and non-binary people we support. We also appreciate that not everyone can offer monetary support. We would also like support with: • Software • Free space for sessions • Volunteer support for marketing and promotion • Providing care packages for our community and practitioners • Organisational structure and policy consultancy