Travis Scott Launches New Philanthropy Effort, Including Event Safety Task Force, 4 Months After Astroworld

Ten people died and hundreds more were injured during the rapper's set at Astroworld Festival in November

Travis Scott has announced a series of community-focused philanthropy efforts — including an event safety task force — called Project HEAL, four months after tragedy at his Astroworld Festival in November.

The rapper, 30, said that since 10 of his fans were killed in a crowd surge at his Houston music festival, he's taken time to "grieve, reflect and do my part to heal my community."

"Most importantly, I want to use my resources and platform moving forward towards actionable change," he wrote on Instagram Tuesday. "This will be a lifelong journey for me and my family."

Scott's Project HEAL is a four-tiered effort that launched on Tuesday with $1 million in pledged scholarships for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Named after Scott's grandfather, the Waymon Webster Scholarship will grant $10,000 scholarships to 100 college seniors facing financial adversity in their second semester, putting them at risk of not being able to graduate.

"My grandfather was an educator who made a difference in thousands of young lives throughout his life. He is a major influence on me and countless others, whose dreams he believed in, whose hopes he invested in, and whose futures he made big," Scott said in a statement. "It's in his spirit that we are creating projects and programs that will look to the future of our communities and create hope and excellence in as many lives as possible."

The second tier of HEAL focuses on providing mental health resources to young people in lower-income communities of color.

Scott has pledged seven figures to fund digital counseling and telephone hotlines with licensed professional counselors and social workers in a project that will be led by Houston-based behavioral health expert Dr. Janice Beal.

Part three, meanwhile, is a seven-figure expansion of the CACT.US Youth Design Center at TXRX Labs in Houston, which is a "nonprofit makerspace for young artists, designers, tech innovators, including free studio space, workspace, tool spaces, job and apprenticeship training, youth education and events," according to a press release.

Travis Scott. Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty

Finally, the fourth tier of HEAL will address safety challenges for large-scale live events by funding the US Conference of Mayors Task Force on Event Safety, as well as a tech-driven device that is currently in development.

A solution developed with input from key experts in various sectors will ideally serve "as the new safety and security blueprint for all festivals and large-scale events," the release said.

Scott has faced significant backlash since Nov. 5, when 10 people, including a 9-year-old boy, died and hundreds more were injured during his set at the Astroworld Festival in Houston.

In his first post-Astroworld interview in December, Scott — who has a lawsuit against him that represents nearly 2,800 victims — said he was unable to hear any screams for help when the crowd surge began, and claimed he did stop the show several times in order to ensure his fans were safe.

In his Instagram post on Tuesday, Scott said he believes that "as a leader" in his community, he feels the need "to step up in times of need," and will do so through Project HEAL.

"My team and I created Project HEAL to take much-needed action towards supporting real solutions that make all events the safest spaces they can possibly be. I will always honor the victims of the Astroworld tragedy who remain in my heart forever," he wrote. "Giving back and creating opportunities for the youth is something I've always done and will continue to do as long as I have the chance. This program will be a catalyst to real change and I can't wait to introduce the rest of the technology and ideas we've been working on. See you all so soon 🤎🤎🤎"