Rihanna, Jack Dorsey Give $4.2 Million to Help Domestic Violence Victims

Rihanna has joined forces with Jack Dorsey to assist domestic violence victims affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

The singer’s Clara Lionel Foundation and Dorsey announced a joint grant to the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, as California remains under a stay-at-home order. CLF and the Twitter/Square CEO have each committed to donating $2.1 million, which will cover 10 weeks of expenses for domestic violence victims and their families. According to a press release, the $4.2 million grant will provide housing and food for approximately 90 victims every seven days, “with an additional 90 victims every week thereafter for 10 weeks.” Applicants and their families will also receive access to counseling.

Per the announcement:

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 …

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. 

CLF and Dorsey acknowledged that domestic violence is global problem, and confirmed this is “just the beginning” of a wide-scale effort.

The announcement comes just a week after CLF and JAY-Z’s Shawn Carter Foundation donated $2 million to coronavirus response efforts that support at-risk populations in New York City and Los Angeles. CLF had also previously announced $5 million in grants to on-the-ground partners working to combat COVID-19 and assist those affected by the deadly disease.

Dorsey announced this week that he was donating 28 percent of his wealth to help fight the global health crisis. The tech mogul confirmed he had moved about $1 billion in Square stock to Start Small LLC, which make grants to coronavirus-related relief efforts. The money later fund girls’ health and education initiatives as well as Universal Basic Income programs.