Entertainment Community Fund Has Distributed More Than $4.7 Million In Financial Aid To Industry Workers Since Start Of WGA Strike

deadline.com:

The Entertainment Community Fund has raised more than $7 million and distributed $4.7 million-plus to more than 2,300 film and TV workers as of Friday during the strikes by the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA.

The WGA’s strike began May 2 and SAG-AFTRA’s started July 14. “Given the heightened rate of requests for emergency financial assistance due to the work stoppage, the Fund is distributing about $400,000-$500,000 per week, compared to an average of $75,000 per week in the first half of 2023,” the ECF said in an update today.

The greatest number of applications for financial assistance are from California, followed by Atlanta and New York. The Entertainment Community Fund, formerly known as The Actors Fund, is helping film and television workers in need with emergency financial assistance to cover basic living expenses such as rent, groceries, health insurance, and medical bills, as well as mental health support.

Industry workers in need of assistance can apply here. The need for assistance, ECF says, has been compounded by loss of work associated with the Covid pandemic. “Due to the pandemic entertainment industry shutdown, people’s savings were depleted when they couldn’t work then, and they haven’t yet had the time or work to recover/rebuild savings.