beloved fund

Join the Movement

Two years ago today, I got my first ketamine treatment for treatment-resistant depression. At the time, I was teaching sophomores. I told the classes I saw that morning that I would be absent in the coming days and weeks to take care of myself. Of course, I didn’t tell them the details. That same year, a student of mine attempted suicide multiple times, usually around holidays and long breaks. I told her I loved her every chance I got. I worried for her even when it was her Starbucks run that made her late for my class. 

Earlier this spring I found myself in Psychiatric Urgent Care and eventually an Intensive Outpatient Program for women of the global majority. We were there not because of some moral failing, but because of the way that society, including the medical-industrial complex and other systems of oppression to call on Mama Morrison “flay our flesh”, attempting to terrorize every part of our bodies and beings.

Almost three years ago, I began to co-create and curate a place, a clearing, where Black women and gender-expansive folks could be flesh.

beloved is a retreat for + by Black women, femmes, and gender-expansive people. At beloved, we create clearings full of care, practice, and space for Black women and gender-expansive folks.“beloved” speaks to our reclamation of ourselves as divine in our bodies, minds, and souls. We spend our time together in various ways, including communal gatherings, guided movement, self-care + reflection, nourishing spiritual practices, and outdoor adventure/exploration. Additionally, attendees are paired with facilitators for a series of focused hush harbors, a smaller, more intimate group of retreat participants who share common interests/needs. Our first retreat was held in May 2023 outside Nashville, TN, and our second in June 2024 in El Salvador.

I’m a testament that going to school, getting a job and even an advanced degree are not always enough to make it or to meet the needs that sustain living. And yet we are flesh. 

We flesh as in when I was depressed out of my mind these women held me. We flesh as in we baptized a woman in the Pacific Ocean to reclaim that the putting on of Jesus in baptism is an affirmation of one’s belovedness. We flesh as in we know what we need to meet our needs and you can help make it so. 

Right now, our community is composed of ten Black women and gender-expansive folks. We have recently begun the process of establishing a Wisdom Council of elder Black women who will provide non-hierarchical accountability and oversight to our community. We will continue to invite Black women and gender-expansive folks to heal with us. The interest form for our next gathering can be accessed here. 

Today I’m excited to launch the beloved fund. The beloved fund will directly support beloved’s work in the clearing. with emphasis on a General Fund, Care Fund, and House Fund. Because we believe that black women know what they need and deserve to be resourced in creative and communal ways, we are not a 501 (c3) at this time. The beloved fund will be managed by the beloved team and in consultation with our developing Wisdom Council. Our priority right now is funding our 2025 gathering.

I hope to raise 300,000 by my 30th birthday in October 2025. 

In addition to monetary contributions, we welcome in-kind donations and other generative offers from the collective.

From the clearing, 

Brittany T. Paschall (Rev. Beloved)