Taraji P. Henson Teams Up With Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation to Raise Awareness for Mental Health Needs During COVID-19 Pandemic

Taraji P. Henson is a known advocate for mental health. Her foundation, The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation (BLHF), partnered with the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation to provide mental health support to first responders and essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic. TASF was founded by the late rapper’s mother, Afeni Shakur.

The organizations launched the Matching Gift campaign to provide free access to mental health therapy. Patients will be directly linked with trained therapists to help them cope with this stressful, unprecedented time as a result of COVID-19.

TASF raised $25,000 and will match and donate it to BLHF to financially support the campaign.

The organizations factored in the cost of therapy, which can sometimes be a burden for the Black community. So BLHF launched the COVID-19 Free Virtual Therapy Support Campaign to raise funds to provide mental health services in low-income networks.

No one should suffer in silence,” said Henson. “Our vision is to change the perception of mental health in the black community. Together, we will make a difference. This is our legacy.”

“It is my belief that in order to honor our ancestors and ourselves, we must look inwards; identify and interrogate the root causes of our traumas. What we as an organization wish to offer are observable steps to reach these goals and we are happy to partner with the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation to make a difference within the mental health community. I believe we are worth the effort,” said Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, the head of TASF.