Rihanna's Clarel Lionel Foundation has partnered with Twitter CEO and billionaire, Jack Dorsey, to launch a joint grant toward the Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles in an effort to protect victims of domestic violence during the coronavirus pandemic. As California has ordered its residents to shelter-in-place, victims of domestic violence are at a higher risk of abuse than usual. That's why CLF and Dorsey have decided to pledge $2.1 million each to cover 10 weeks of expenses for domestic violence victims and their families. The $4.2 million total grant will be used to provide housing and food for roughly 90 victims every seven days, as well as "an additional 90 victims every week thereafter for 10 weeks." The grant will also allow victims and their families to receive counselling.
"The Los Angeles Housing Authority has determined that approximately 90 people per week (in addition to their children, in many cases) have been turned away from domestic violence shelters in Los Angeles since the Safer at Home Order was issued," a press release read. "It is estimated that more than 10 million people experience domestic violence in the U.S. each year, and the number of homicides related to domestic violence has been on the rise since 2010. In L.A. County, as overall homicides have declined, the number of women slain has steadily risen." Both CLF and Dorsey have acknowledged that DV is an ongoing issue, and that this grant is "just the beginning."
The news comes in the wake of a major donation made by CLF and Jay-Z's Shawn Carter Foundation to "coronavirus response efforts that support at-risk populations in New York City and Los Angeles." CLF previously donated $5 million to a number of different organizations working to combat the pandemic. Earlier this week, Dorsey himself announced that he had given up 28% of his wealth in an effort to help fight coronavirus. He moved approximately $1 billion in Square stock to Start Small LLC, a company that provides grants to coronavirus relief efforts.