Juice WRLD‘s mother Carmela Wallace announced on Wednesday (April 22) the launch of the Live Free 999 Fund, established to honor the legacy of her late son.
In a statement, Wallace said she established the fund in an effort to provide access to education, prevention, and treatment options for opioid addiction and other forms of drug abuse. A press release listed the fund’s goals, which include:
- Providing support to programs that address addiction, anxiety, and depression in compassionate ways
- normalizing the conversation on these topics, particularly in underserved communities.
- assisting programs that can help people find positive ways of processing mental health challenges, i.e. music or similar creative pursuits.
Live Free 999 will be receiving additional support from Grade A and Interscope records, and is a fund of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.
“Young people around the world were truly touched by Jarad’s music because he spoke to issues and situations in his music that resonated with them so deeply. I was aware of his struggles with addiction, anxiety, and depression; we had many conversations about his challenges with these issues. I know he truly wanted to be free from the demons that tormented him. I made the decision upon his death that I was going to share his struggles with the world with the objective of helping others,” said Wallace. “It is my hope that Live Free 999 will help people just as Jarrad’s music has and will continue to touch lives for years to come.”
Juice WRLD died on December 8, 2019 of a drug overdose, only 6 days after his 21st birthday. He has released two massively successful albums, Goodbye & Good Riddance (2018) and Death Race for Love (2019). It was announced in January that his family has plans to release unreleased music and “other projects,” sometime in the near future.
Learn more about the Live Free 999 Fund here.