Travis Scott has announced the creative of Project HEAL, a new initiative for at-risk youths that offers mental health services and provides safety at large scale events.
The announcement comes after months of silence from Scott and his team regarding the tragedy of the Astroworld festival, where 10 individuals died and numerous were injured during a concert. In an interview shortly after the festival, Scott said that he wasn’t aware of what was happening in the crowd which is why he didn’t stop the concert. The entire festival and Scott’s response have been heavily criticized by fans, saying that there was a disregard for safety.
Scott said that he has since taken the time to reflect and process the event, and determine what he can do to move forward.
In his Instagram announcement of the initiative, Scott wrote, in part, “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.”
Scott explained that Project HEAL will have four core initiatives: a Waymon Webster HBCU scholarship fund, an expansion of the CACT.US Youth Design Center, free mental health resources and a U.S. Conference of Mayors Task Force of Event Safety.
According to Billboard, Scott’s initial investment in the project totals $5 million, spread throughout each initiative. This is not the first time Scott has been involved with philanthropy in local communities and at HBCUs, but this initiative is a larger response to what happened at Astroworld.
Since the tragedy, Scott, Live Nation — who partnered with Scott for the festival — and others have been wrapped up in multiple lawsuits about the festival’s organization and the lack of safety measures in place. In February, it was announced that the nearly 400 lawsuits filed by festival attendees would be rolled into lawsuit for the sake of expediency.
The lawsuits are still moving forward, but it appears Scott is trying to take accountability for what happened at Astroworld and work to ensure the tragedy never happens again.
“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,” Scott wrote on Instagram. “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.”
