FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact
T-Kea Blackman, MPS, CPRS, RPS
t-kea@blackpeoplediebysuicidetoo.org
301-915-6771
Baltimore, MD (March 31, 2025) — Black People Die By Suicide Too (BPDBST) is honored to be awarded a $100,000 Rising Equity Grant from The MATTIE Fund: Mindful Advocacy for Totally Transformative Inclusion and Equity marking the largest grant the organization has received since its founding in 2023. This significant investment will allow BPDBST to advance suicide prevention initiatives and impact.
The Rising Equity Grant acknowledges BPDBST’s dedication to fostering open conversations about mental health, empowering individuals with lived experience, and addressing the unique challenges Black communities face in accessing care. This funding will enable BPDBST to strengthen its infrastructure, develop new initiatives, and expand its outreach efforts, ensuring long-term sustainability.
“As a survivor of suicide and someone who lost my 13-year-old cousin to suicide, words can never fully express the gratitude I have in my heart to The MATTIE Fund and Dr. Alfiee for the belief in my vision and support of our organization,” said T-Kea Blackman, Executive Director and Co-Founder of BPDBST. “This grant affirms the importance of our work, makes a difference in the Black lives impacted by suicide, and provide culturally relevant resources.”
Since its inception, BPDBST has worked to create safe spaces and advocate for systemic changes that improve Black mental health outcomes. This grant represents a transformative milestone, equipping the organization with the resources needed to further its advocacy and commitment to prevention, intervention, and postvention, and the removal of barriers through peer-led support.
BPDBST extends its deepest appreciation to The MATTIE Fund for its unwavering commitment to advancing mental health equity and supporting organizations making a difference in underserved communities.
About BPDBST: Founded in 2023, BPDBST is a peer-led non-profit organization that focuses on suicide prevention and mental health awareness in the Black community. Through education, advocacy, and peer support, BPDBST addresses the unique challenges Black individuals face related to mental health and suicide, working to create safe and supportive spaces for healing and connection.
About The MATTIE Fund: Mindful Advocacy for Totally Transformative Inclusion and Equity is a donor-advised fund sponsored and administered by the National Philanthropic Trust that was launched in 2024 following a $20 million contribution by Pivotal Philanthropies. Dr. Alfiee was selected by Pivotal Philanthropies to be the fund’s advisor, and it is her intent to utilize the fund to promote the mental health and well-being of girls and women from diverse communities and drive systemic change in the areas of inclusion and equity.
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