A life in the arts brings uncertainty even in the best of times. Since its founding in 1882, The Actors Fund has provided a safety net for entertainment professionals throughout all stages of their lives.
Over the course of the pandemic, The Fund has worked with the entertainment community to do what they do best: rally together, take action and continue to be there for SAG-AFTRA members and all those who work in this industry.
Since March of 2020, The Actors Fund has distributed more than $26 million in emergency grants to more than 17,700 people around the country, through their own funds and those of almost 20 partner organizations, including $7.1 million granted on behalf of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation and the SAG-AFTRA Motion Picture Players Welfare Fund.
Actors Fund grants continue to help people with essentials like rent, food, medicine and health insurance premiums. They have also provided relief for those impacted by natural disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires and tornadoes.
In 2020 alone, The Actors Fund helped more than 40,000 people via health and wellness, career and life, and housing services. Its increasingly popular selection of online groups and educational seminars provide timely information on mental health, navigating career and health insurance options, finding affordable housing, managing finances and more.
Get Support
Recent times have posed significant challenges to the mental health of people in this industry. The extended period of financial instability, sociopolitical upheaval, natural disasters and social isolation have taken an emotional toll on so many.
The Fund provides online groups to help people address issues like stress, anxiety and depression.
These groups provide support for people in handling uncertainty, finding ways to cope, managing relationships and loneliness, providing ongoing care for loved ones, dealing with loss, and navigating hope and resilience.
The Fund offers more than a dozen national groups and forums open to SAG-AFTRA members everywhere and designed to recognize the unique and differing needs of the entertainment community, including:
- COVID-19 Support Group for People Living with HIV
- Finding Hope in Uncertain Times
- Gendertainers: From Safety to Celebration
- Good Grief Support Group
- Guided Autobiography for Seniors
- Mind Body Spirit: A Group for Black Women in Entertainment
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
- Mindfulness Meditation
- Self-Care to Give Care: Caregiver Support Group
- Support Group for Entertainment Professionals
- Support Group for Injured Dancers
- Take Five: A Support Group for Parents in the Entertainment Industry
- Thriving with The Actors Fund for People of Color
For New York residents, additional groups include:
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
- Mindshift: Cognitive Behavioral Skills for Anxiety and Depression
- Positive Living
- Psychology of Money
- Self-Care for Women in Entertainment
- Seniors in Transition
Learn more at actorsfund.org/SupportGroups.
Enrich Your Career
The need for The Fund’s career services is greater than ever. In 2020, The Fund’s skilled counselors, employment specialists and instructors provided services to more than 5,800 people.
The Fund offers career counseling, employment training and job development to help people find work that can be done while continuing in the industry or while developing a new professional direction. And Career Transition For Dancers helps dancers to thrive during all phases of their careers.
They offer workshops on topics such as resume writing and LinkedIn networking, and new offerings such as:
- How to Job Search During a Pandemic
- Innovation & Entrepreneurship During COVID-19
In addition, their Wednesday Forums series explores topics like recruitment trends, identifying creative work alternatives and the future of work in a COVID-19 economy.
The Fund’s Creativity Doesn’t Age speaker series provides forums to explore the importance of work and community engagement in combating isolation and loneliness; career identity and reinvention; intergenerational collaboration and more.
Learn more at actorsfund.org/CareerCenter.
Stay Healthy and Insured
The Actors Fund is singularly focused on keeping members healthy and capable of pursuing their chosen careers.
The Fund helped more than 4,800 people in 2020 through health insurance services.
The Fund offers personalized health insurance counseling, provided nationally; guidance and enrollment support; referrals to health care resources; as well as primary and specialty care at The Friedman Health Center in New York City.
Learn more at actorfund.org/HealthServices.
Find Housing
Housing is a critical concern for people who work in performing arts and entertainment.
The Fund’s Housing Resource Center provides one-on-one consultations and online information via its Housing Bulletin Board. And The Fund welcomes more than 1,000 people a year to its online affordable housing seminars.
The Actors Fund also offers The Dorothy Ross Friedman Residence in midtown Manhattan, which provides supportive housing to special low-income groups, including seniors, working professionals and people living with HIV/AIDS.
In addition, The Schermerhorn, in partnership with The Actors Fund and Breaking Ground Community, offers this unique, 217-unit residence for single adults in the heart of Downtown Brooklyn.
And located on six beautiful acres in Englewood, New Jersey, and only seven miles from New York City, The Actors Fund Home provides excellent health care and supportive services, including short-stay rehabilitation, assisted living, skilled nursing and memory care.
Learn more at actorsfund.org/Housing and actorsfundhome.org.
Manage Your finances
The Actors Fund also offers free seminars to increase your financial knowledge and to learn the tools and skills to support lifelong financial health and stability.
Learn more at actorsfund.org/Finances.
Support for Seniors
Over the course of the pandemic, The Actors Fund has provided continuous care while prioritizing the safety of the senior members. Their Senior Services program can help SAG-AFTRA members ages 65 and older, their families and caregivers to address the myriad issues they may face on a daily basis.
Whether it means helping you investigate housing alternatives or working with a family member to organize homecare, The Fund’s experienced social workers can help you develop a plan to meet your individual needs.
Learn more at actorsfund.org/Seniors.
Support for Young Performers
Created in 2003 in partnership with SAG-AFTRA, The Fund’s Looking Ahead program helps professional young performers and their families thrive amid the unique challenges of working in the entertainment industry
In addition to their ongoing programming, Looking Ahead has recently offered a series of support groups for young Black male-identifying performers, young Black female-identifying performers and their parents.
Learn more at lookingaheadprogram.org.
Stay connected
For a calendar of ongoing free workshops, groups and seminars from The Actors Fund, visit actorsfund.org/Workshops.
To sign up for a monthly email with all the latest offerings from The Actors Fund, visit actorsfund.org/SignUp.
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