The Healing Space receives $64,277 Racial Equity Fund Grant

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – The Fund for Santa Barbara, in collaboration with the County of Santa Barbara, awarded one of its Racial Equity Fund Grants to the Healing Space, a community serving therapy center at UC Santa Barbara.

The Healing Space specializes in consultation, therapy, and other healing from an Afrocentric, racial trauma approach. It is staffed by Black therapists that are doctoral students at UCSB and supervised by professors who are licensed psychologists.

“Healing Space has continued to see a positive trend among Black community members who are seeking out our services for the opportunity to work with Black clinicians that truly understand the toll of ongoing racism in the local area and at a national level,” says Dr. Alison Cerezo, Director of the Healing Space and UC Santa Barbara Associate Professor in the Department of Counseling, Clinical and School Psychology. “These funds will help us to expand our services by offsetting therapy costs, ensuring no one is turned away for lack of funds, and by connecting clients to critical resources like housing, food and employment that have a direct impact on their mental health and wellness.”

The $64,277 grant will be spread over the next two years and be used to bridge the gap for Black community members seeking mental health services in a culturally-affirming environment.

In the wake of the 2020 killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, grassroots organizers led by Black Femme leaders galvanized the passage of a resolution within the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors declaring racism a public health crisis accompanied by a pledge of $500,000 by the Board to address inequities county-wide.

Approximately half of that pledge was dedicated to internal equity development in the county government and the remainder was used to create a Racial Equity Fund of the County of Santa Barbara (REFCSB).

The REFCSB distributes its funds though a participatory grant-making process administered by The Fund for Santa Barbara, a non-traditional community foundation dedicated to progressive social change.

“We appreciate the recognition of the transformative work the Healing Space has already carried out to build a more equitable, just, representative, and inclusive region,” says Gevirtz School of Education Dean Jeffrey Milem. “This grant will help the Healing Space extend its reach and expand its capacity for its very necessary work.”

The Healing Space will join other 2023 Racial Equity Grant recipients at The Fund for Santa Barbara's Grant Awards Celebration on Jun. 14 at the Lobero Theatre.