Taylor Rooks Foundation And Undue Medical Debt Erase $2.1M In Medical Debt For Gwinnett County, GA, Residents – AfroTech
Taylor Rooks is helping people in her hometown erase medical debt.
Foundation
As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the Emmy Award-nominated journalist and producer launched the Taylor Rooks Foundation in 2025 to empower Black families in education, health, and opportunity regardless of “zip code, background, or bank account.” Its three pillars of focus are reach (educational resources, community wellness initiatives, small business support, and direct giving), relieve (support for health and recovery, crisis assistance, and essential living needs), and represent (mentorship for journalists, storytelling workshops, and the launch of Rising Rooks Award).
“I believe that equity starts with access — access to care, to confidence, to opportunity,” Rooks said in a press release shared with AFROTECH™ at the time. “My work is rooted in trust, community, and the radical idea that a single act of support can rewrite someone’s story.”
Erasing Medical Debt
In January, the foundation announced in an Instagram post that it provided $20,000 in utility assistance to families, helping them cover electricity, water, heat, and phone service costs.
Now, Rooks has taken to Instagram to announce that her foundation had partnered with nonprofit Undue Medical Debt to erase medical debt for residents of Gwinnett County, Georgia, her hometown.
“My baby sister has Type 1 diabetes, so I know firsthand just how medical bills can pile up. Sometimes it can really just feel like you’re drowning, and it can seem like you have nothing that you can do about it,” Rooks explained in the Instagram video. “Medical debt is not something that people even plan for. It often comes at some of the hardest moments in life and can stay with people so much longer than it should. This kind of relief has real impact. It eases financial stresses that many carry with them silently, and it gives people the ability to just focus on their health, their families, and everything that comes next.”
“At the Taylor Rooks Foundation, we are so committed to continuing this work by expanding access, removing barriers, and creating real opportunities for people to just build this stability. Everyone deserves the chance to move forward without being held back by circumstances beyond their control, and we promise to keep showing up to help people make that possible,” she continued in the video.
According to Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, 66.6% of bankruptcies are the result of medical debt. Furthermore, medical debt disproportionately impacts the Black community. In fact, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 27.9% of Black households had medical debt compared to 17.2% of white households. Additionally, per a study published by the National Library of Medicine, those with mental health conditions have double the odds of medical debt compared to individuals without mental health conditions.
In response to these disparities, the partnership between the Taylor Rooks Foundation and Undue Medical Debt has supported 1,805 residents and erased $2.1 million in medical debt, according to a separate Instagram post.
