DRK Beauty Healing to Give Away 10,000 Hours of Free Therapy to Women of Color

[Photo by Hian Oliveira]

DRK Beauty, a digital content and community platform with a mission to support, celebrate, and empower women of color, has launched a national mental health initiative, DRK Beauty Healing, which aims to give away 10,000 hours of free therapy to women of color in the United States who have also been affected by COVID-19. To bring the initiative to life, clinicians of color across the country are donating 10+ hours of pro bono treatment.

"Our mental health initiative, DRK Beauty Healing, is giving away 10,000 free hours of therapy for those who identify as women of color,” says Wilma Mae Basta, founder of DRK Beauty. “In late April, it hit me that COVID-19 was going to disproportionately impact people of color. Mental health is important to me as I have been through my own challenges. I felt that DRK Beauty should be doing more to help our community than just sharing content. After speaking to several therapists, we discovered that many clinicians already donate at least 20 hours per year pro bono. Within a month, we’ve raised close to 2,000 hours and more clinicians are coming on board daily."

Since its launch, DRK Beauty Healing has partnered with actress Cynthia Erivo and begun a fundraising campaign to raise $500,000 to continue its mission of providing mental health resources to women of color.

DRK Beauty founder Wilma Mae Basta.

DRK Beauty Healing will run until the first 10,000 therapy hours are used up by clients. If you’re in need of therapeutic support, click here to access a directory of clinicians and connect with a local therapist.

If you’re a clinician who is interested in donating hours towards the initiative, register here.

If you’re a brand, philanthropist or an individual who wants to support the initiative, click here to donate.

For more information, visit DRK Beauty’s website and follow them on Instagram: @thisisdrkbeauty

Kamala Kirk is a University of Southern California graduate and has been an editor/writer for more than a decade. She has written for E! Online, Total Beauty, TravelAge West, Malibu Times Magazine, and many more. She resides in Los Angeles and is a proud pug mom. Follow her on Instagram: @kamalakirk