Haunted. Whenever I think about about the national homicide rate for Black women and girls, which is the highest rate among American women, and according to The Guardian "represents a risk of violent death that is four times higher than white or Latina women."

Tension. Many Black women I've worked with carry it in their bodies. Usually it’s across their shoulders, but some days it traipses up to the neck, and down to the lower back. Their internal systems are disregulated, and since the pandemic began, it’s left them continuously on guard or dissociative.

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As Black women, and Americans, their relationships with anxiety, PTSD, and trauma is not unique – or isolated. It’s shared by the collective of Black people across the diaspora. However, within the United States – the systemic, institutional racism that pervades our society is a festering, oozing sore. The perpetual stress and constant reorientation to the environment stems from a valley so deep, it's hard to envision the bottom.

Black women are particularly vulnerable and unshielded, and in the weeks since the pandemic, the malaise has only intensified. Microaggressions abound in the midst of ongoing emotional currency extractions, and trauma disrupts everything from the ability to connect with Self to relational patterns.

As a woman, cancer and mental health advocate – and future Marriage and Family Therapist, I would like to help provide a respite for Black women.

I want to help Black women thrive in this time of social unrest and economic instability, and so I have created an initiative to provide entrepreneurial, business development, and emotional support.

The pandemic has effected the livelihoods of millions around the world; forcing them into "emergency, survival mode." I want to help Black women address financial stability - one of the core human needs - so that they can focus on other areas of their lives that may need healing and attention at this time.

I am offering two Black business women (or non-binaries) a FREE 1-hour “Coffee with Bella” strategy session.

During each 1:1 virtual session, which will be conducted via Zoom, we will discuss topics ranging from personal development to branding, developing sustainable business models, marketing, scaling, or attracting new consumers. These coffee sessions are short and powerful alternatives to The Chrysalis, my three-month entrepreneur mentorship program – and can be utilized to explore ways businesses can pivot to survive post-Coronavirus.

I have worked with diverse creative and healing professionals from yoga instructors, to artists, photographers, app developers, journalists, healers and coaches – so I’m in the position to utilize my experience across a wide array of industries (Wellness, Entertainment, Fashion, Beauty, Publishing and Tech) to assist you.

To apply for a scholarship, click here.

I wish I could help more than two individuals, but to honor and prioritize my own recalibration, I need to be mindful of my bandwidth. Scholarships are open only to those who live in the United States.