Four months after the Astroworld tragedy where 10 concertgoers died, Travis Scott has announced a $5 million initiative called “Project HEAL,” which he hopes will “be a catalyst to real change.”
Details: Scott said that the four-legged initiative includes efforts “ranging from academic scholarships, free mental health resources, a creative design center and a first-ever, tech-driven solution for event safety,” the website stated.
What he said: “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 Tuesday 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.”
Flashback: On Nov. 5, 2021, during Scott’s Astroworld festival, 10 victims between the ages of 9 and 27 died and hundreds were injured. The rapper and the festival organizers faced criticism for lack of proper safety protocols for the 50,000 people who were in attendance. So far, Scott has been hit with almost 400 lawsuits.
In an interview a month after the tragedy, Scott said he didn’t know exactly what was going on during the concert.
“As artists, you trust professionals for when things happen that people can leave safely. And this night was just like a regular show, it felt like to me, as far as the energy,” he said, adding, “People didn’t show up there just to be harmful. People just showed up to have a good time and something unfortunate happened and we just need to figure out what that was.”