 Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment's fourth webinar for workers impacted by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. My name is Marisa Radanti. I am the Associate Director of Workforce Development and Moderator of today's webinar. We're very, very thrilled to share with you a special message from the Mayor of the City of New York, Eric Adams. It's Mayor Eric Adams. We know that so many of you have had your income and livelihoods impacted by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. The 185,000 of you who support New York City's world-famous film and television industry deserve a fair wage and fair share. These strikes affected a large number of people connected to the industry. Yes, there are writers, actors, producers, crew members, and directors. But there are also dry cleaners, florists, lumber yards, and restaurant workers who make it living when movies and shows are in production. We hope to see agreements reach soon that are fair. But today, I want you to know that New York City has your back, and we will ensure that all those impacted have access to support services during this difficult time. You are the storytellers, the changemakers. You are the lens into our lives and our imaginations. We want the industry to continue to grow with good paying jobs. New York City is here to support our workforce. I want to thank you for making New York City a global creative capital. One that millions want to travel to work in and live every day. We are resilient, and we'll get through this together. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And now we'll open up our events with remarks from our newly appointed Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment. Pat Sweeney Kaufman brings a wealth of experience to the agency. She served for 19 years as the Executive Director of the New York State Governor's Office for Motion Picture and Television Development and as Deputy Commissioner of Empire State Development. During her tenure, she helped craft and shepherd the legislation that led to the New York State Film Production Tax Credits, worked to create the standalone post-production tax credit, and the commercial production incentive programs. She was the President of the Association of Film Commissioners International from 2003 to 2007, set on the board of the Hamptons International Film Festival and the New York Production Alliance. It is my deep pleasure to introduce the Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, Pat Sweeney Kaufman. Thank you, Marisa. It's a privilege to be here to talk to all of you today. As I said, as she said, I'm Pat Sweeney Kaufman and the Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, which many of you think of as moan. Some of you know our office primarily as the agency that issues the permits that allows filming to take place across all five boroughs. But we are also here in good times and bad to supply and provide resources and support for the many people and companies that work in the creative industries. As you heard the Mayor say today, this is a powerful economic engine that we have in New York in the form of the film and television production industry. This industry creates 185,000 jobs and has an economic footprint inside the city of $82 billion. So it makes perfect sense that we are very concerned in watching how this industry is doing and we are providing support for the companies and for the people who work in this industry. And we do understand that the strikes are straining many of you and in many different ways. So we hope that today's webinar is going to provide, to prove to be a value to you. And we hope that with this information you'll be able to put one foot in front of the other as you make your way through this difficult and challenging time. And following, in the following live session, following, excuse me, following the live session, you can always go to our website, which is nyc.media slash mom. And you can see not only this webinar being repeated, but you can also view the first three webinars that were given previously. And before we start, I want to thank our state and sister agencies that are helping us today and the nonprofit partners who are participating in today's webinar. And those nonprofit and agencies that are helping us are the Episcopal Actors Guild, the Department of Social Services, the Department of Labor, the Entertainment Community Fund, and behind the scenes foundation. Thank you to all of them for the help that they are giving us with the webinar. So now let's get started. Thank you Commissioner very much for your remarks. I would like to let you know how we're going to do this format and while people are putting questions in the chat. Here's how the format will work this afternoon. Each panelist will give a short presentation about the resources their agency can offer. And after all the panelists have finished their presentations, we will take your questions but don't use the chat for your question as it could get lost. So you can use the little Q&A thingy at the bottom of your screen. It says Q&A with little balloons that look like questions in a cartoon. Now you can also email us questions later or at any time at workersresourcesatmedia.nyc.gov and Taveri will put in our website that the commissioner spoke of and that email into the chat. Our panelists include, and I'll just read it quickly, Karen Lehman, the executive director from the Episcopal Actors Guild, Vanessa Mitchell, community engagement liaison from New York City Department of Social Services, the Office of Community Outreach, and Lars Thompson, the associate commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor, Lillian Galina, the director of workplace initiatives from the Entertainment Community Fund, formerly the Actors Fund, but it's for everyone in the entertainment community, not just actors. Lori Rubinstein, the executive director from behind the scenes, and we will share new information about available financial assistance from the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. This event, as we said, will be recorded and viewed at a later date if you would like. Everyone who is registered will receive an email with all of the website addresses and the link to this webinar that's been recorded. We invite you to share that information with your friends. So let's dive in. Karen Lehman, director of Episcopals Actors Fund. Karen, you're on. Thanks, Marisa. Hi, everybody. I am just going to share my screen. As Marisa said, I'm Karen Lehman Foster. I use the pronoun she, her, hers. I'm the executive director of the Episcopal Actors Guild, or just EAG. We're a nonprofit that provides emergency aid and support to professional performers of all faiths, and none. We believe in the importance of art and artists in our community. So for the past 100 years, we've been helping to bridge the inevitable gaps that happen in performing arts careers so that performers can keep working in the career of their choice. At best of times, it is difficult for performers we serve to maintain consistent employment due to the nature of the industry. Shows closing, shorter contracts for film and TV projects. But when a crisis such as an injury, illness, global pandemic or union strike hits, it can feel impossible for a performer to stay on their artistic path while keeping a roof over their head and putting food on the table. It's a relief organization like EAG comes in. We are a safety net for New York City's professional performing artists, providing crucial services to ensure the well-being of our community. Today, I want to review who is eligible for our assistance and then tell you about the programs that we provide for financial aid and food assistance. We help people regardless of religion, race, national origin, ethnicity, gender identity and or expression, sexual orientation, age, physical mental ability, political ideology affiliations, or language. To be eligible for any of our programs and services, you must meet the following criteria. You must live in the New York City metropolitan area, which includes any of the five boroughs or anything within a 30 mile radius of Midtown Manhattan. You must be a professional performer. For our purposes, we define a professional performer as someone who makes their living as an actor, singer or dancer. You can qualify for our assistance, whether you are a union member or not. You must be able to document that you have worked as a performer for at least five years. We'll ask you to document that you've made $5,000 or more as a performer in three of those years. If this is you, we encourage you to apply at our website, actorsguild.org. Our primary program is our aid and relief program. This program helps pay bills incurred during a crisis. When your application is approved, we can make the following payments on your behalf, rent, mortgage or maintenance, utilities like electric, gas, internet or telephone, medical and dental costs like co-pays, bills, and health insurance premiums. Our maximum grant is $750. However, for people 65 and older and those who are living on disability, we can offer a maximum grant of $1,000. Again, to apply, you can visit our website actorsguild.org. Our other main program is our actors pantry. Through this program, you can receive free, nutritious, high quality, non-perishable food items from our onsite food pantry located at 1 East 29th Street in Manhattan. When you visit the pantry, you can also receive one $25 grocery store gift card per month so you can supplement our shelf stable items with fresh foods and foods that meet your specific dietary and cultural needs. If you are homebound due to age or disability, we'll have groceries delivered to you up to $100 a month. You are welcome to use the pantry for as long as your need persists. Because we value your privacy, we make this service available by appointment only and you're the only person that uses the pantry at that time. To visit the pantry, you must be a current EAG client who has filled out our application and provided documentation about your career as a performer. If you're interested in using the pantry and not receiving financial assistance, you'll still need to fill out the application. And once your application is approved, we'll send you a link to schedule your pantry appointment. EAG is also a vibrant community of artists. Our staff, board and supporters are members of the New York City performing arts community, and we offer a variety of other activities and services that may be of interest, including an additional grant at the holidays for those with children, free yoga and Pilates every week, an artist's way group as well as other support groups, free classes and acting and other relevant topics, a theater residency for emerging companies, scholarships for theater students, and a monthly discussion group on racism in the arts. Thank you for having me here today. On behalf of our team at EAG, we stand with you, and we hope that negotiations continue, and your demands are met swiftly. Again, you can find our application at www.actorskill.org, and you can reach me at Karen at actorskill.org if you have further questions. Thanks so much. Thank you Karen. The Episcopal Actors Guild is really a little jewel in New York City, and we're very glad that you joined us today. Next up is Vanessa Mitchell. She's the Community Engagement Liaison for the Department of Social Services. Glad to have you back Vanessa. It's all yours. Sorry, thank you. Let me just share my screen. Here we go. So I'm going to go ahead and jump in. So today I'm going to present on an overview on SNAP and cash assistance to give you kind of an overview of both programs. So I want to start by talking a little bit about the SNAP program also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which is also known as food stamps for a lot of people. So the SNAP program basically helps people pay for food and its benefits are provided through an electronic card, very similar to an ATM card that's accepted at most grocery stores, supermarkets, and farmers markets. Anyone who resides in New York City can apply for SNAP benefits. This is with income or without income. If you are found eligible, you will receive SNAP benefits within 30 days of when you apply, which is the file date. So that's a quick overview of SNAP or cash assistance. Again, cash assistance is for anyone that lives within the five rows of New York City. SNAP has different programs within cash assistance. So there is a temporary cash assistance, which is like a one-time benefit that people can apply for and this is usually for rent arrears, utility arrears, or emergency needs. Or there is also an ongoing basis where you can get benefits on a monthly basis and it's basically like a package deal. You can get SNAP benefits, cash, and health insurance. There are key factors that are needed in order to qualify, so they will be looking at residency, immigration status, income if you have income, and resources will need to be verified. So to give you a little bit of overview in regards to eligibility for SNAP, so having income is not required to apply for SNAP benefits, HRA will consider several factors when determining eligibility. This can include certain medical expenses, childcare expenses, rent or mortgage, and utility expenses and more. Well, income is not a requirement. It is important if the household is receiving any type of income. This can be income from a job or it can be income from like unemployment or social security benefits. I did include an income chart at the bottom of the SNAP eligibility section just to give you a kind of like a brief overview. And this is the income guidelines according to household sides. So that's just a quick overview for eligibility requirements for SNAP. For cash assistance, this program looks at several things, and generally this includes how much money you earn, how much money you receive from benefits. This could be social security benefits, how many people live in your household, resources like cash or a checking account, and citizenship or immigration status. Most eligibility criteria must be verified before the household is determined eligible to receive ongoing cash assistance benefits. There will be eligibility requirements that need to be met. And then once that is processed, you should be receiving a decision whether you are approved for ongoing cash assistance or one-time emergency assistance. So I'm just going to run through the process of the application and how to apply and timelines and expedited processing. So to start off with, I just want to share a little bit about how you can apply for SNAP or cash assistance. We do have AccessHRA, which is a public website, and it's called AccessHRA. That is the first way or the first option in case you are interested in applying. You can also call our DSS1 number that's also known as the InfoLine, and this option is in case you would like to receive an application form meld to your address. The third option is filling out the paper application and submitting it at your local SNAP center or the Benefit Access Center. And if you go to the NYC.gov backslash HRA, you can find the location that is nearest to your address. And the fourth way is getting assistance from a partner organization, which I will be showing you on the follow-up slide, how you can find different locations. Those unable to file an application using the methods described above may call DSS1 number to set up an appointment to complete an application over the phone. So that is another option. So here is what I mentioned about finding a partner organization in case you are interested in getting some assistance in the application process and just getting some guidance and having somebody walk you through. You can actually go into the NYC.gov backslash HRA website and you can click on the partner tab as you see here on the screen. It will then bring you to this window. You will click on find a partner and a full list of different organizations within the five boroughs of New York City will appear. And you are welcome to call any of the ones that you're interested in and talk a little bit about what you're interested in and how they can help you. Many of these organizations actually do help with the application process and helping people fill out the application process application. So if you are interested in getting assistance, this is another option. So let's talk a little bit about the timeline. So HRA is required to notify you of your decision on SNAP or your cash assistance application within 30 calendar days of when you submitted the application. So from the moment that you click submit, the clock starts ticking. It takes 30 days for you to receive a decision whether you were approved or rejected. You should be receiving an EBT card, which is the electronic, which is kind of similar to an ATM card. You should receive that EBT card anywhere between 7 to 10 business days by mail. Or you're also, you also have an option of going into your nearest local SNAP center or benefit access center to get a temporary card while you get your card in the mail. The third option is not waiting for the card in the mail and picking it up directly in Brooklyn. So I put the address there just in case any of you guys have already applied and have not received your card and would like to pick it up. So I'm going to talk a little bit about expedited processing. So the expedited processing I just want to mention is not something that you have to apply for expedited processing is a one time benefit also known as emergency SNAP benefits. So this is something where everybody is getting screened for when you apply for SNAP. This is usually people who qualify if your household has $100 or less in cash or other available resources, and your income is less than 150 during the month that you applied. So it's really based on your resources. And if you have less than $150 of income. So if you qualify for this expedited one time benefit, you can get benefits within five days of your filing application. So let's move on to the eligibility interview. And I'm going to talk a little bit about the current eligibility interview process. The eligibility interview process is required for everyone who submits a SNAP and cash assistance application, or recertification. If you submit your application you are required to call. If you submitted a SNAP only application you would call 718 SNAP now. You can do this 24 hours after you submitted the application. For cash assistance, once you submitted an application, you would do the same thing wait 24 hours and then you want to call cash assistance on demand. You basically would be calling to go through an eligibility interview, and it's Monday through Friday between 830am to 5pm. Call volume is highest on Monday and midday throughout the week. So that's just kind of giving you guys a heads up. You are required again to complete that interview process if you do not complete that interview process you do run the risk of getting rejected. Now to expect during this interview process so during the eligibility interview the worker will review the submitted application. They confirm information provided and clarify any incomplete or confusing information. They ask any additional questions if needed, and provide a list of any missing documentation and give the applicant at least 10 days to return in the required documents. So there are required documents that you will need to submit along with your application. During that interview it's important for you to understand what documents to submit if you have not submitted any. The interviewee will review that information with you and I also encourage you to if you do have any additional questions during that point. I encourage you to ask the person conducting the interview. I will go on to documentation and verification just to give you a little bit more of information in regards to the documents that are required to be submitted. So once an application is submitted you will be seeing something like what you see on your screen. If you do if you submit the application through access hra which is online. It's required to submit supporting documentation. You will see a list something like this it will ask for something like a curtain. Prove a social security number prove a bank accounts prove of identity prove a household, and so on so this is just an example of what you may see. It's required to submit every single document that you see under every single category is just a list of different options. So, for example, if it's asking for proof of social security you don't need to provide a proof of social security award letter or a letter from social security and the social security card, you just want to submit one thing for each category. So in return how you can submit your documents. So there are three options. The first one is uploading your documents using a mobile app so there are two different mobile apps the first one is called access hra mobile app. You can see the icon with the Statue of Liberty in the apple, and then the second app is called NYC HR a document upload, and this app, you can up take a picture of your documents and upload every single document. My advice to you is to make sure that when you're taking pictures, make sure that they're clear, because a lot of times we get unclear pictures which mean that people will need to resubmit those documents. You will need your confirmation number that you receive at the end of submitting your application when you use NYC HR a document upload app. The second option is faxing your documents so you're you are welcome to fax your documents if you like. And then the third option is dropping them off directly at the snap center or the benefit access center. And again, those locations are on our website. Lastly, the notice of decisions so whether a snap or cash assistance application is accepted or denied a char will send a notice advising the applicant of the decision within 30 calendar days of the application filing date. So everyone will be receiving a decision notice within 30 calendar days from the file date. The copy will also be available in the client's access a char account if the person submitted an application through access a char or if you made an account on access a char you will also receive a notice through the through the account that was created. And so lastly how you can reach us so again you can call us at DSS one number Monday through Friday from nine to 5pm or you can also call 311. If you have specific case specific questions or in regards to status of an application that you submitted you can also call the DSS one number. If you have reasonable combinations request you can email constituents affairs at DSS.nyc.gov disability affairs assistance disability affairs at DSS.nyc.gov for increase about immigrant eligibility for benefits. You can, you can email or add DSS.nyc.gov. And lastly, our website HRA. You are more than welcome to actually go on our website and find more information in regards to other benefits. And that is the end of my PowerPoint. I just wanted to add some links in the chat so that people have the website and the HRA website as well. Thank you Vanessa so much. I just wanted to clarify to everyone that you are responsible to call to make your interview appointment. That was a little confusing the last time. The phone number when you go through this webinar again, the phone number is for you to call to make an appointment to get your interview. If you don't do that, you will be denied and my camera is not working. No. Okay, next up on our list is Lars Thompson, the associate commissioner for the New York State Department of Labor. Lars, whenever you're ready. Okay, good afternoon everybody get ready to share my screen here. There we go. So, good afternoon all. First of all, on behalf of the Department of Labor and our commissioner Roberta Reardon, I'd like to thank Commissioner Kaufman and the entire moment team for allowing us, just a few minutes to speak with everyone here about who we are and what we can provide answer some questions if you're a current customer and whatever else we can do to assist all workers impacted during this time. So, at this point here, what I want to highlight here is again our website. We have multiple links. It's all the same way to get there we've got the short link. This is right to the UI page, and the bottom will go to the main Department of Labor page, which is not just about an employment insurance but about everything else the New York State Department of Labor can can offer workers. I'm going to split this up into two halves. I want to first speak to people who have already filed claims and have already been, you know, in the process so to speak, and then I'll talk a little bit about people may not be familiar with our program and what that's all about. The questions have been coming in about the processing time. I just wanted to highlight here, it can take up three to six weeks from the time you file the claim to receive your first payment. There is a lot to review. But we want to make sure that people are aware that as long as you keep certifying each week and once your eligibility has been reviewed, all those benefits do come out. So, you know, we just ask that people bear with us. It's been a very, very busy summer. I can thankfully say we're closing the gap. Our phone volumes are declining. So, please, if you're trying to call us, you know, not to hold up your entire day with trying to reach us on the phone. But I can assure you that our volumes and our wait times are getting less and less all the time especially in the second half of the week. Again, while you file your claim, just please make sure you're being responsive to questionnaires or phone calls and also to be sure to certify each and every week. So I wanted to make that first point if you are a current customer. The second note I wanted to share here and I know this is a very common question about an extension. I wanted to say that unfortunately this time there are no extent extensions of unemployment insurance available at this time unemployment insurance is a federal program that is run by the states. There are state laws that kind of guide how each states UI program works, I'll get a little into that a little later. But there are no extensions so 26 weeks worth of benefits within the full year that the claim is open is the maximum we can offer at this time, we have no control over that. Another point I wanted to reiterate is if your claim is still open but you have exhausted. You will not be able to file a new claim until that year has has has run out. And then there's other eligibility requirements if you're going to file a new claim as well but there's nothing per the law that we can do to change that this time but it is a common question but I wanted to address it directly. One point that I want to make is that we are familiar that people and customers have come up with I filed in another state maybe the tri-state area or so forth, and they've exhausted there. Can I file in the other state that I may have worked in yes you can you don't have to wait for your year to run out to file in a new state. You have to work with the other state to ensure that you know you have exhausted benefits in that other state. It doesn't mean I mean you're eligible because of how much you've worked, but you know, first things first if you've run out another state you know you've worked in other states please don't hesitate to file on the other states you may have worked because you may be eligible there that is something that I wanted to address this afternoon with everyone. I wanted to also remind everyone in terms of you know when you're on unemployment insurance if you're new to the program. You are also able to collect partial benefits while working. If you're saying anything on the side that you're doing. That's a way to ostensibly extend the 26 weeks because you know it's not use it or lose it in a given week you have the entire year. We may changes during the pandemic to allow more work to be done and collect more benefits at the same time so if you're working 10 or a few hours in a week, and you earned less than $504 excluding self employment and so this would be you know something that would be a little bit more for an employer, you're still going to receive your full benefits. But if you're working a little bit more than that, the reductions, you know are on the slide above. But that is something that we don't want to penalize people who are underemployed, you know during this time or at any time. So just wanted to highlight that as well that that is the formula, you know for for what happens and if you work a full week. And again, that's not going to take away from me from what what the maximum you're eligible for, and then you can just pick it up again the next week if you find yourself out of work or underemployed. So, going into some other details here I'm going to be speaking a little more to maybe people who are both both sides, but what is unemployment insurance. You know for eligible workers who are unemployed, you know did no fault to their own. This is all workers impacted as a result, you know, of the work stoppages, and also the the the industries that surround it as well. I've seen questions come through both and before today's conversation and during today's chat, you know, I work in this industry I'm not a member, you know that that is also you would also potentially be eligible so you should also file a claim. You know, there is qualifications. I'm not going to get too much details here but you have to have worked certain so much in a year, you have to have earned so much in a year. And again one of the big things is to know fault to your own and a work stoppage and in a layoff, those are definitely qualifying events. All that being said a lot of questions come in for people who haven't filed yet. I've got this I've got that I we totally understand that we hear you loud and clear. There are so many nuances to, you know, certain situations that the best and only answer we can provide a lot of times is if you have not filed a claim but you're unemployed and you think you're eligible for benefits please please please just file the claim. The process will take you through the pertinent questions will will obtain the necessary information from you as a result of your answers and just how our system works. But you know the outreach to say this is my situation do you think I felt totally understand it. The response is going to be just please file file today if you haven't already filed and you think you want to know. That's the best best answer, we're going to provide not only during this time but at all times, to be honest. Okay, going a little back into how far back you have to have worked. It's five calendar course it's about a year and a half for all practical purposes. What would you be eligible for it's $504 per week in the state of New York. Some people here, maybe familiar with filing other states in different amounts that is correct that is how that works, it is state by state. But I wanted to speak at you know, we are in New York, New York's program, and that is the maximum and that is the minimum that people would be eligible for once they're eligible. I've already covered this about how long does it last once the claim is opened and eligible it's open for a year, of which you can receive up to 26 four weeks of benefits during that time. Some of the qualification criteria there, it's also on the website. Here's the slide that I wanted to speak to for some, you know, questions over the past few months whether you're going back to May 2 or whether you're going back to July 14 or sometime in between that or recently about self employed. So would I be eligible may not be eligible on this type of corporation I've got this setup. Again, we totally understand that the, the only way we can determine eligibility for that is after you file the claim and then provide the documentation that's required and again, our system and our process does get that information. We've got a link in here for some other information that might help you ahead of time but again, if all else feels just please file the claim. This is the first time, first time you're, you're totally out of work or are under employed. If you wait, you may lose out on benefits it's just easier if you file as soon as you can. And you have the entire week that you're out of work to file the claim, if you have not already. Here's some information about what's needed to file. Again, many of you today may be already familiar for that and if not, there is information that's needed because we've got to match you up to your work history so that's the information there. This is all online we have some amazing videos and some online resources here about what to expect during the process how to apply what the process is. There's our website there's the hours. There is our phone number. And again, you know, our socials are very, very active. We engage people through our social media as well. Through our Facebook page definitely through our Twitter I use that to change that the X now sorry old slide. And then also you know valuable resources about you know other career sources and jobs that we can offer both short term or long term resource use. Last point today I just want to talk a little bit about some of the ID verification process that some people may be familiar with. We do want to make sure we have to verify people we are still coming out of the pandemic it wasn't that long ago in our world. So we do want to make sure that we protect everyone's rights so if you're selected to go through ID me will notify you. And if you do just make sure you go through the process, and we also do offer in person now. That's through the website. Again, if you've been through it, you'll, you'll, you'll know that that's something you need to complete just make sure you do so timely. That's my point. I'll do again I'll just reiterate our websites. Again, thank you for having us here this afternoon. You know the outreach to both the moham office through our social media directly through our websites. If you if you need assistance you have a claim please don't hesitate to reach out and we will do everything within our power, and then some to serve you during this time. Again, thank you so very, very much greatly appreciate it. Thank you Lars so much. I've tried to turn my camera on again Lars. There have been a lot of questions about the telephone system at the Department of Labor which I'm sure you're going to pass on. And hopefully things will get squared away on that front. Our next panelist is from the entertainment community fund. Lillian Gaena is here she is the director of worst paid workplace initiatives for the entertainment community fund. Take it away, Lillian. Hi all thank you so much for having me. My name is Lillian I use she her pronouns, and I would love to pull up presentation here and get us started. I can see this thank you so much for taking the time to listen a little bit today about the entertainment community fund I saw in the chat we've got lots of different IA unions represented today so shout out to all of you in the chat there. Hopefully you're familiar with us to some degree and if not, happy to introduce what our services are here today. We're a national nonprofit human services organization that serves all professionals in performing arts and entertainment behind the scenes in front of the scene around the scene. And we are serving all 50 states including Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands, our goal is to really foster stability to promote resiliency and provide a safety net for people in performing arts and entertainment. So film television radio opera theater dance music circus much more. So anybody that's associated with performing arts, hopefully we can support our broad spectrum of programming really focuses on individual and group supports. Workshops support groups are online resources individual services and emergency financial assistance we hope that this that our programming really serves the unique needs and all the essential things that people can need to stay in the performing arts and entertainment. Who is eligible for our services, our services are available to everyone and performing arts like I said all around the scene. When it comes to emergency financial assistance it's big, it's based off of work history as well as financial need. We are the stewards of many different funds. And so all of our eligibility guidelines are listed online at entertainment community dot work. Our social services also provides a number of different supports including mental health services for seniors, services for folks that are experiencing a disability, people living with HIV and AIDS support for addiction and recovery, our emergency financial assistance as I mentioned, financial wellness and support groups. I'm going to spend a little time on how to apply for emergency financial assistance I know that that's a big need for folks in this time so let me take a moment and just kind of review the basics. Our emergency financial assistance available for people who are unable to pay their immediate basic living expenses that's things like housing food utilities or health care. If you are able to cover your expenses right now we ask that you wait to apply because one of our criteria is that you can show that you're in financial need. Once we receive your application we will have a social services team member get in touch with and we're looking now about 10 to 14 business days. But that might get a lot longer we hope to get a little shorter I know shout out to Lars who's saying they're getting a little bit more on top of it we hope to do the same. We'll discuss eligibility if we need any other documentation. Look at your particular situation make sure we're connecting you to any resources that we have. Right now, due to an extremely high volume of applications we're not able to respond to individual questions about the application what the status of your application is right now. Believe me we will get your application we will go through it. And someone will reach out to you. If you have a question about how to answer something on the application we say make your best guess at this point, and someone will reach out to you if they need clarity, or to help you complete it. This assistance that we can provide can help towards the cost of immediate basic living expenses, such as housing food or utilities. If you start to fill out the online application please collect and digitize all the requirements. The eligibility requirements involve documenting documenting your work in the industry as well as showing financial need. All of the requirements are listed on our website as I stated before, we have our own emergency fund we've been a charitable organization for about 140 years so we have our funds that people can apply for. They can be a union member they can be non union it's based off of industry earnings and need, but we're also the stewards of many other relief funds through individual unions and organization so those are all listed on our website we encourage you to go and read there and see if you're eligible for any of those and you can apply directly on our website. We do have our artist health insurance resource center. Many people during this time made experience some type of change or loss of their health insurance coverage. And we do have counselors that can work with people to provide additional options. People can get help signing up for a marketplace plan and essential plan and go on Medicaid we have Medicare counselors as well. We do have to explain what may change in your insurance what's coming up for you individually in your specific situation. So important to go we have a form you can fill out online to get an appointment with one of our health insurance navigators and counselors. Our career center has a number of different workshops and supports during this time for folks that find themselves out of work and not able to work in the industry. So by career counseling employment training we have a job listing site. We really help folks develop and manage their particular needs in their career so that's a real holistic approach into considering all of the different elements out there. Our career center orientation which is a starting point to get involved in those workshops and those counseling sessions is every Monday and Wednesday online so you can sign up for that to attend a career center session and find out if there's any supports for you there. We also offer a wide range of mental health supports. So we have a staff of clinical social workers that can provide an assessment and referral appointment if you're in need of help finding a provider of wanting to know more about what types of mental health supports are available and what might be most helpful to you. So these free confidential assessment and referral appointments with a clinical social worker will really help guide you into figuring out next steps for you and we can provide those referrals to mental health providers, clinics, institutes as well as psychiatry. We offer a full range of support groups here at the fund facilitated by social workers on a number of different topics as well as just general, we're offering a few different groups on the work stoppage as well which I'll show you in a bit. We just have a great deal of education and information on understanding your mental health insurance coverage, and a series of mindfulness based education and workshops including a daily mindfulness based meditation led by one of our social workers here via zoom. So specific workshops that we've put together if you're experiencing your work on pause due to the strike is getting affordable health insurance job search and self care so we are running those every month we encourage people to look on our calendar of events if any of these interest you and sign up for them to get that specific type of support and guidance and resources. One thing to mention is that although we were receiving a high volume of applications we encourage everyone to take a look at our website take a moment to read the eligibility, gather your documents. Make sure I think as Vanessa said right that they're clear that they can be read that the images are viable, and you will receive a call back or an email from a social worker in our social services it will help you navigate the application. This is a one time grant we're not able to provide more than one emergency assistance during this work stoppage if that changes at any point, we will have that on our website. So please note that if you have already received emergency financial assistance from the entertainment community fund. I'm during this time of work stoppage we are not able to provide a second grant at this time. We encourage people to reach out via the application and we hope that this ends soon and that all of you can get back to work and provide such an incredible support to this larger New York City community. Thank you Lillian I have one question because I see them in the chat. Many people are wondering if they live in another state. If they can approach the entertainment community fund I believe the answer is yes. Yes. So we are a national nonprofit organization. Our emergency financial assistance is not based off of region or area. Thank you very much and it doesn't matter if you're a union member or not. Correct our eligibility guidelines are all online they're based off of industry earnings. Thank you so much we are getting close to five o'clock I am asking our panelists if they will stay another 15 minutes because we have 51 questions in the in the Q&A. I would encourage anybody in the Q&A that's question has been answered. There are many about unemployment extensions which we've already answered at this time there are none. Thank you for taking those questions out of the question and answer that would be terrific. And thank you again Lillian and please take advantage everyone of the entertainment community fund. Next on the roster is Laurie Rubenstein, the executive director of behind the scenes. Laurie whenever you're ready. Thank you very much. I'm going to share my screen. I know that we are getting late on time so I will move through this as quickly as I possibly can. We know that everyone is going through an extraordinarily difficult time and that financial stress often comes with high levels of anxiety depression sometimes increased alcohol and substance use. I want to speak to you about the behind the scenes mental health tools and resources which were developed specifically for the industry by entertainment industry professionals and mental health professionals focused on our industry. Now I'm only going to speak about a few of those in detail but I just wanted to give you a quick overview of what is available on our website. I'm a current therapist finder specifically for the entertainment industry. We offer anonymous online self assessments, easy to navigate resource links. Select Cameron. No wait a minute. Sorry, you have to go to start video. I don't. There is no little arrow is just a camera with a red line through it. No. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Okay, thank you. We have extensive stopling and harassment campaign sample language for safety briefings to help create psychologically safe and respectful workplaces information on substance misuse that provides assistance to both the user and those who may be trying to help them. So the first resource I'm going to highlight is the entertainment industry therapist finder. This was created in response to the many entertainment industry workers who told us they were frustrated at not being able to find a therapist who understood the unique stresses and and challenges of working in the industry. The finder only includes therapists who have either previously seen entertainment industry professionals as clients. So in effect they were educated by those clients, or people who have previously worked in the entertainment industry themselves. If you go there you will be able to search on all the usual fields, but all search results will only include those knowledgeable about the industry. And particularly now I want to share just a couple of quick notes. We all know that health insurance plans often have insufficient mental health coverage, or include too few available therapists. There are two things you can do to help yourself in this situation. One is since so much therapy is happening as tele therapy. Don't hesitate to expand your search geographically is what matters is whether or not the therapist is licensed in your state. And the other thing you can do if you find a therapist you think is a good fit for you, but they don't take your insurance contact them and see if they will work on a sliding scale. To make this especially it's very common to experience feelings you may not be used to or not to the extent that you're experiencing them. These online self assessments are a really good way just to understand what you or perhaps someone you care about are experiencing. They're free and completely anonymous. No one else knows you participated or what your outcome is. There are actually 13 different assessments that you can choose from, and you may take as many as you want. They include screens for things like anxiety, depression PTSD, and there's also a wide range assessment, which is a really good place to start. You will be asked a few basic demographic questions, and then some very simple questions to gauge how you are doing. These are samples from the anxiety assessment. One of the benefits of taking these assessments is they can provide you with a language to describe how you're feeling. If you found it difficult to describe that to others whether whether to friends or family or perhaps a mental health professional. This can help provide some words for that. Upon completion of the assessment. It will let you know whether you're doing well, or if your responses suggest that maybe you are dealing with an issue. There's some good basic information about the subject, and it will lead you to easy to navigate resources on our website. And we know that if you go online to start looking for help it's very easy to get overwhelmed to start going down all kinds of rabbit holes. So we wanted to make finding help as easy as possible for you. As you can see these are grouped and carry obvious ways, including hotlines finding a mental health professional sites for dealing with anxiety or depression etc. These are national resources but most of them do include state listings as well. To select a topic, you will see a list of resources. We let you know the quickest way to get there whether it's a phone number, a URL, and we provide a very brief description you'll also notice two small icons. The knowledge one means that that site provides good information on whatever the subject is. And the one that says tools means that they also provide some skills training for you or for you as a caregiver. We have a great deal of information on alcohol and substance use that was compiled by a group of industry professionals, all of them are either in long term or short term recovery, as well as addiction recovery mental health professionals who specialize in our industry. There's information on the impact of alcohol and various substances on you both physically and mentally. There are helpful guidelines on how to approach someone that you are concerned about, whether they're a friend or co worker, perhaps someone you normally report to you or who reports to you. Hopefully you're keeping in touch with friends, colleagues co workers during all of this. This also includes suggestions for how to prepare and start that conversation and tips if you want to participate in social situations, but you also want to maintain your recovery, or you want to help someone who's trying to maintain their recovery. And the scenes has joined the suicide and crisis lifeline and its partners in the be the one to campaign. It's especially important right now to take some time to look at these materials. So you are prepared if you find yourself concerned about someone. And there are three parts to the campaign. One is to be aware of the warning signs of suicide. The more familiar you are with these, the quicker you will be to recognize them and take action. There are posters available for download on our website, or you can email me to request professionally printed posters and my email will appear at the end. Step two is knowing the steps to take to help keep someone safe. Very simple steps very straightforward, but what do they really mean. Should you ask if so how so on our website, you will find practical guidance and examples for each of the five steps that's downloadable. We also have wallet cards so you always have the information with you or a reminder of the five steps, the numbers for the suicide and prices lifeline and prices text line and a QR code leading to our website. If you are trying to help someone through a crisis, the lifeline can provide you with assistance and support as well. And I think I'll go ahead and stop now. Just one other thing to mention is that we do offer mental health first aid training. If you go to our website, you will be able to find out information about that and sign up for classes. Because if you are a member of IATSE, it is reimbursable by the training trust fund, and I'm just going to scoot ahead here and bring up my website and email. There you go. You can grab that real quickly. And I'll go ahead and finish. Thank you so much. That was very, very helpful. Okay, I just have something to thank you so much and I love finding behind the scenes. I'm sorry about the audio interruption everybody my my computer actually said I was muted so there you go. I'd like to read this from the Screen Actors Guild. I'm sorry the SAG After Foundation Emergency Financial Assistance Program and it is fairly recent that they got quite a bit of funds to help. Through all the eligibility requirements on SAG AFRA dot foundation slash assistance before applying, members must be paid up in their SAG After dues through October 2022. That's 2022 to be eligible. You must show documentation of immediate financial need. That's bank statements, tax returns, bills similar to the others that said the same thing about financial assistance. Additional eligibility requirements are provided on the website of again read and the documentation requirements before applying in order to qualify. The required documents must be submitted in order. There is an order on the website and they want them in that order. Please be patient. The application process is currently taking up to two weeks. All applications are confidential and anonymous. Thank you everyone and I'm hoping our panelists will stay for a little while longer. I will. I know that no will. This was a very, very deep dive into these panelists. Remember you can, we will be sending out this webinar link so you can look at it again. We will be sending out all of the panelists website information. I'm going to look at the Q&A and try to read as many as I can, and everyone should be ready to unmute themselves. I am a non-union background actor. Unemployment was denied as my quarterly earnings were just under the limit. What else can I do? Lars, are you here? I'm here for a few more minutes. At this point I'm trying to thank you everyone. I'm trying to respond to some folks privately. You know, there is a hearing process that can be requested. The limits are for the law, but if you have not provided any and all work, you know, if there was work in other states or things we didn't pick up on that can be provided and re-reviewed. So, you know, you can protect your rights and ask for a hearing. If you have other wages or things like that that you know weren't reported, you should provide those. That's the shortest and best answer I can give you at that point. Thank you, Lars. To Harry Brown, you are wondering if, because you live in LA, does that exclude you from these resources that we've gone over? As you see the Entertainment Community Fund, and I believe the, well, you're not an actor, you're local 52, you would be able to contact them and see if there's anything there. When we send the email after this meeting, will you give separate options to those of us who live in New Jersey, not all of us live in New York? The options for New Jersey are the Entertainment Community Fund and the Episcopal Actors Fund. Everything else is New York State targeted. There is one about, is unemployment, and this is for you Vanessa, is unemployment considered income according to SNAP? Yes, and I believe I answered that as well, but yes it is considered income is just put under a different category called unearned income. Unearned income is unemployment, good to know. What if you have been denied unemployment? That's from Susan. Susan, as Lars said, you can ask for a hearing. Can you file a claim if you're a small business who, I'm sorry, that slipped away. I'm so sorry. Can you file a claim if you're a small business who represents actors? That's like the talent agents. I believe if you have been, had a work slowdown due to the strike, you could apply for unemployment for yourself. It doesn't matter if you're an actor. Is that right, Lars? Sorry, off mute. Yes, that's correct. I definitely apply. Again, there's some different situations we might want to look at, but again, if you are unemployed or underemployed, please don't hesitate to file, so yes. Is this for five boroughs only? That's from Kevin. Kevin, this is for most of these, some of these organizations are nationwide like the Entertainment Community Fund. So the benefits are usually for New York City, New York State. Do people who work remotely from New Jersey for companies based in New York qualify for any of these programs? The Entertainment Community Fund, depending on what you do and possibly unemployment. Lars, I ask you again, it is true that they can apply for unemployment if they're working remotely or no? That's correct. Okay, so if you're working remotely, that's a yes. How come I... Someone's asking why has the benefit gone from 504 and 504, only that much? I have no clue to answer that. That's the New York State budget. Lawmakers, lawmakers, lawmakers blame it on them. If you live in New Jersey, but have only worked in New York, can you apply for New Jersey benefits as well, Lars? Leave them at a responded to that. Typically speaking, New Jersey, if you only work in New York City, they're going to want you to file in the state of New York, it would be fastest for you to do that anyways. So that's my recommendation. If I didn't file my claim the first week I became unemployed, how far back can I go, Lars? I think they have to apply and whenever they apply, that's it, right? If you don't apply, that's correct. Typically the claim is from there. Once you file to protect your claim and then you can also request additional back credit, that is a separate investigation determination for state law. It can be requested though, but again, if you're looking for benefits now, please don't wait and file now and then we can walk you through the process for how to seek the back credit and if we can approve that or not for the law. If I own a company that is not associated with my work with the union, can I still file? That's correct. Yes, you can. And again, we will ask some questions about that, but if there's no bearing on that and depending on what's going on with that, but yes, you should file. When filing unemployment, pending, when filing unemployment, pending is the first week of waiting before, oh, I see. What is the first week of waiting, Lars, for unemployment? It's a full week. It's called the waiting week. So you file the claim, the first week is not, we can't compensate you for that first full week that you're out. And then after that, that's when the 26 weeks of benefits will begin. This is a common one. It's been six weeks since Labor Standards Employer Complaint Unpaid Wages form was mailed. Oh, gosh, I'm sorry, guys, someone is moving my screen around and it is not me. I'm sorry I cannot answer that question because the question box is moving without my help. When filing unemployment, I'm sorry. Here we go. I had an idea on my old phone. However, I have yet to connect it to my new phone. Can I get a new QR code emailed to me? I'm really not sure what this is. It's about unemployment. Who can I send an email to? If this person wants to email the contact email here to Moan with their contact information and things like that, we can try to assist. Dennis, if you're still here, email workers, plural, resources, plural, at media.myc.gov and we'll get it to Lars. Thank you. Is it only limited to S-Corps? That's the question. Is this only limited to S-Corps? For unemployment, I'm assuming. There's a lot of different corporate structures we see when people file claims and there's no best way for me to answer which ones get what. It all depends on the different structure. So it's not just limited. There's S-Corps, LLCs, things so on and so forth. Too many to go into detail for something like this. If you have a corporation but you want to seek benefits and see if you're eligible while working for other folks, please don't hesitate to file. I just, again, I apologize to all of you why this is the questions are literally moving without my touching the mouse. There's something about wrapping a show back in 2022 when I fell down the stairs. From then on, I've been receiving worker comp and not work since then. My worker comp ended the boom, the strike. My question is, can I get unemployment or help to pay my rent? HRA won't help because they say I have no income. I have no income because we are on strike. So that's you, Vanessa, if you're still here. Yes, so what I would suggest is to apply for unemployment. If you get approved for unemployment, then apply for cash assistance or a one shot deal. The one shot deal is what will, what the program that will help with any arrears. Cash assistance can help for ongoing assistance for the, for the rent. I need help applying for the entertainment fund. Jennifer, I would suggest you go to the entertainment community fund website and try to apply there. There is also a phone number that you could call and someone there can help you. I believe it's 212-221-7300. Is that right, Lillian? No, we're not really able to answer and call back phone calls right now if people are applying for financial assistance. So it's best to just go ahead and apply online. And a social worker will reach out to you, hopefully within 2 weeks. If you have some type of barrier to submitting an application online, please leave a message and someone will return your call as soon as we can. I have a second question from, please continue. I'm a New York resident freelance screenwriter and work from commissioned project to commissioned project. Finish one project before the strike started another with an independent company, which then went on hold for the strike. Am I still eligible for unemployment benefits? That's a large question. You should definitely file a claim for benefits, your work, and also to, you know, one thing I don't think I covered, and I apologize for remembering that earlier. New York state does pay striking workers, but you're not out because of the strike, you're out because of tangential. So, you know, to me that sounds like a layoff. Again, I will not make the final decision, but you should definitely file. Yes, to me that sounds like something you should file. My last benefit week ended in the middle of the week. When I tried to claim the last week's benefit, I got a form to file for a new benefit year instead. After that, I have to wait one week. So am I out of benefits for 2 weeks? I think I understand the question. If you have a new claim in a new benefit year, there is a new waiting week that is correct. So, that's just how the law works. So when people do fall in that situation, it's a new claim, it's a new waiting week, but once you serve that new waiting week, you have your 26 weeks. Okay, Stephanie, this one's for you. I can't log in to claim my benefits. I filed my claim and now keep saying I am logging in as a business when I'm an individual. How can this be remedied so I can start claiming benefits? Lars? Oh, I'm sorry. That kind of, what was that question again? I'm sorry. Again, I apologize for some reason. It was about they are being told, they can't claim benefits because they're being told they're a business when they're an individual. I'm not sure if there was a determination issued on that, in which case you'd have to ask for a hearing. Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have to end for several reasons. We have some hard outs of our panelists. And I am sorry, we have 77 questions. Many of them have been answered already. We will try to answer the ones in the Q&A. Noel, are you on? Noel? Yes. Are we able to record these questions in the Q&A? But can we email back to them? We probably can't, right? We should be able to, yeah. We should be able to, I mean, other than the anonymous ones, we can download the whole list with emails. I just have, I just want to quickly thank our colleagues, Tovrey Crouch, Deputy Director of Production, and my support person for when I melt down. Melanie Scarer, the Associate Commissioner of Strategic Communications, Joanna McCabe, Press Secretary, the amazing Roxanna Allen, graphic designer. Zanib Said, the Manager of Digital and Social Media, and of course, All Things Zoom, Hero, Noel Murray, Programs Coordinator, want to shout out to our performing and production unions, the Community Boards Entertainment Industry organization, City Council Members, Block Associations, Bureau Presidents, who helped us get this word out to you. And remember to submit your questions to, if you have that slide, no, with our workers resources at media.nyc.gov, each email will receive a response. I do them personally and I guarantee it will happen not tomorrow, but it'll happen. And in closing, please understand the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment takes these strikes very seriously, especially the effect it has had on all of our workers and businesses. Our Commissioner and our staff talk about this every single day. Every day we try to identify more ways to help and we will continue to do so. We will continue to host webinars, supplying information about new resources, but we are only hosting the information to be given to you. We can't apply for you. Our office is hopeful that a resolution will be found tomorrow or as soon as possible, which is equitable to all involved so we can get back to work. Thank you so much. Stay strong. Have a good night.