Safer Space for Black Lives Matter, West Coast Wildfires
Historically, the experience of people of color in America are drenched with stories of insidious racial discrimination characterized by trauma and violence. Mental Health America has reported that 16% of the total Black and African American population, or over 7 million people, have reported having a mental illness in the past year. Despite the significant need of mental health support, only one in three Black or African American adults receive mental health care. Don’t Shoot PDX sought to tackle this issue of intersectionality of mental health and one’s experience as a member of the Black and African American community. From this, an initiative was born, Safer Space for BLM, out of a need for mental health support for those who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of color (BIPOC) as well as those engaged in the BLM movement. Overseen by Teressa Raiford, spearheaded by Dr. Anita Randolph, and supported by a larger team underneath them, the goals of Safer Space for BLM are to:
Uplift the BIPOC community through mental health advocacy.
Improve accessibility to mental health support during the BLM movement.
Build resilience in community members to continue direct action that advances the BLM Movement
To respond to persistent symptoms of emotional distress experienced by the Black community, Safer Space for BLM is offering a physical meeting space to receive peer-to-peer support by licensed professionals. In addition to peer-to-peer support, Safer Space for BLM offers telehealth for virtual calls for individuals in need of mental health support throughout the US. In the near future, Safer Space for BLM will offer mutual aid on-site during protests by facilitating a Mental Health Safer Space Tent.
Mutual Aid for Wildfires
Since last week, over a dozen runs have been made possible due to the outpouring of community during these wildfires. In coordination with Fires Igniting the Spirit, our team will continue making emergency supply runs to help Indigenous communities in Oregon and Washington most affected. There are many who have been displaced and are seeking support - please continue to show up as you can at this time. Click here to view a current list of needed supplies and drop off sites.
Thank you Oregon Walks for awarding us the Walkstar for 2020. With the fires raging in Oregon and knowing the importance of being able to peacefully resist it breaks my heart that people can still deny climate change. Thank you so much for providing us with a most necessary platform and honor to elevate our message of “Social change matters!” - Teressa Raiford, Executive Director.
On October 6th, Silent Voices will be released digitally and available internationally for home viewing, sharing, watch groups and house parties. Please share with everyone you know in Portland and beyond.
UpStaged selected the 32 top-scoring a cappella groups (out of over 160 applicants worldwide) for its U.S. bracket-style competition. Each group chose a social justice charity to compete for — and MIND THE GAP from University Of Oregon has chosen to compete as ambassadors for Don't Shoot Portland. Endless thank you for supporting our work! Voting will be live through this link on September 21, 2020.
As we continue to face the COVID-19 pandemic, the BLM uprising and the recent wildfires all along the West Coast, we ask that you please continue to support our work. We are only able to accomplish what we do with our community’s help!