In the shadow of COVID-19, a toll on entertainment workers

In the shadow of COVID-19, a toll on entertainment workers

NEW YORK (AP) — Like so many, the pandemic upended life for actor and dancer Rena Riffel. The Los Angeles-based performer needed help with rent, utilities and counselling when jobs suddenly dried up.

“Being an artist, we are already very fragile with our finances,” she said. ”It’s like an ebb and flow. So when the pandemic happened and everything shut down, for myself and for everyone else, there’s really no hope. There’s no opportunity.”

Riffel’s experience is echoed in a new survey by The Actors Fund that illustrates the depths of need created by the COVID-19 pandemic in the arts community. Released Thursday, it reveals financial hardship, food insecurity and lost housing.

The survey of 7,163 people helped by the organization — including Riffel — found that 76 percent of respondents lost income and 40 percent reported reduced food security.

Some 28 percent fell behind in rent or mortgage and 20 percent were forced to change housing. Ten percent of respondents had to sell a large asset, such as a house or a car.

“We see the pandemic as having a long tail on its impact on performing artists and entertainment professionals, and especially people involved in live entertainment,” Joe Benincasa, CEO of The Actors Fund, said