CALIFORNIA

CALIFORNIA EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT (EDD)
State unemployment benefits, paid family leave, and short-term disability leave (may be inclusive of mental health as determined by your provider).  edd.ca.gov/en/claims/

TO FILE A CLAIM FOR UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ONLINE:

1.     Gather required information (Valid CA identification, most recent employer’s information, employment history over the past 18 months (may be available through payroll company)). 

2.     Create an account on myEDD: myedd.edd.ca.gov/s/login

3.     Submit information and fill out required forms.

For detailed instructions on applying and filing a claim: edd.ca.gov/en/unemployment/apply/

TO REGISTER FOR DISABILITY INSURANCE OR PAID FAMILY LEAVE ONLINE

1.     Gather required information (Valid CA Identification, Social Security number, most recent employer’s information per W-2 or paystub).

2.     Create an account on myEDD: myedd.edd.ca.gov/s/login

3.     Register for SDI Online via your myEDD account.

4.     File your DI/PFL through SDI Online by selecting New Claim and specifying the type of claim you wish to follow.

5.     Attach

6.     (DI ONLY) Get your licensed healthcare professional to complete the Medical Certification.

For more details on filing a DI/PFL claim through SDI Online:
edd.ca.gov/en/disability/SDI_Online/

Note: You must complete identity verification through ID.me before filing a claim. It may be necessary to send some documents through the mail.

BENEFITS CAL

If you are a CA member whose income has been affected by lack of work, you may be eligible for food aid, cash aid, medical benefits, and general relief programs detailed here: Benefitscal.com

Apply directly here: https://benefitscal.com/Help/how-to-apply-for-benefits/ABTIP?lang=en

If you create an account, you can manage multiple applications and save your progress. https://benefitscal.com/Public/login?lang=en

LOS ANGELES EWDD JOB LOSS ASSISTANCE
Resources, programs, and services to assist employees through any transition process

GEORGIA

GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
For Georgia members seeking unemployment insurance, the MyUI claimant portal lets you file claims, request benefits, and view determinations.
dol.state.ga.us/public/uiben/customer/login

NEW YORK

NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
For New York members seeking unemployment assistance, you can apply through your NY.gov account.
ny.gov/services/get-unemployment-assistance

Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon narrates this video tutorial on filing an application for unemployment benefits:
youtu.be/IynNsoJbdL0

ENTERTAINMENT HEALTH INSURANCE SOLUTION - MPTF
(primarily LA crew) and ECF (primarily outside LA), through Entertainment Health Insurance Solutions, work together to support members in finding alternative health coverage if you fall off the plans.

Annette Greene (Director of Entertainment Health Insurance Solutions) gave a presentation outlining options for IATSE members who may be in danger of losing MPI Health coverage, from Local 705.

THE UNION SOLIDARITY COALITION
The Union Solidarity Coalition is an organization of writers and directors who wanted to help support IATSE and Teamsters kin during the strike. Their current focus is offering direct financial support to crew members who have lost health insurance due to the strike. 

BENEFITS CHECK UP Rx
Connects you to programs that will help financially for people 55 and over.

CALIFORNIA

CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS
Before your healthcare runs out, contact the Motion Picture Television Fund for healthcare assistance.
mptf.com/health-insurance

COVERED CALIFORNIA
Free connections to cheap name-brand private insurance. MPTF (above) should include this resource.
coveredca.com

LA MEDICAL SERVICES, POSSIBLY LOW-COST

WALK IN GYN CARE – full-service walk-in center for Women's Health offering 30% off to all entertainment industry workers affected by the strike. Open 7 days a week and take walk-ins and appointments. Services include:

• Well Woman Cash package
• STD testing
• Ultrasound on site
• Pregnancy testing, birth control, reproductive care
• Pelvic pain, Fibroids
• Early pregnancy medical terminations

L.A. COUNTY HEALTH SERVICES
Free / Low-Cost Health Care, Ability to Pay Plan, PPP Clinics
313 N Figueroa Street Los Angeles, CA 90012
(800) 427-8700

THE WELLNESS CENTERFree / Low-Cost Health Care
1200 N State St. Los Angeles, CA 90033
(213)-784-9191

OLIVE VIEW MEDICAL CENTER
Free / Low-Cost Health Care
14445 Olive View Dr. Sylmar, CA 91342
(818) 364-1555

FIRST 5 LA
Agency list serving clients in Spanish & English. Free/Low-Cost Health Care for Kids
(888) 347-7855

THE CLINIC
Ruth Temple Health Center - Free / Low-Cost Health Care
3834 S. Western Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90062
(323) 295-6571

ALTAMED HEALTH SERVICES
7 Southern CA Locations Free / Low-Cost Health, Dental & Senior Care

L.A. GAY & LESBIAN CENTER
Services vary at the four locations

WOMEN’S HEALTH SERVICES
Free / Low-Cost Health Care
Classes, resource services, shelter, support groups

TARZANA TREATMENT CENTERS
Health Care, training, education & court related services. Various locations

UCLA DENTISTRY
School of Dentistry, two Locations. Choose a student, resident or faculty dentist.

USC DENTISTRY
School of Dentistry. Choose a student, resident or faculty dentist.  

GEORGIA

GEORGIA MINI-COBRA
Small-business workers who meet additional conditions can apply for a 3-month coverage package.
cobrainsurance.com/usa-state-cobra-rules/georgia/

NEW YORK

NEW YORK STATE OF HEALTH
To view healthcare plans, eligibility information, and apply for free/low-cost coverage, make an account here:
nystateofhealth.ny.gov/individual?lang=en

NEW YORK COBRA
If you live in New York and are losing your entertainment union health insurance, you may be eligible for a 75% discount off your COBRA rate.
entertainmentcommunity.org/services-and-programs/artists-health-insurance-resource-center

There is information on New York State's COBRA Premium Assistance for Entertainment Industry Employees here: 
dfs.ny.gov/consumers/health_insurance/cobra_cont_assist_demo_prog_entertain_employees

People can request an application for COBRA assistance either through MPI, through the Entertainment Community Fund or by emailing NY's Department of Financial Services (DFS) at COBRA.application@dfs.ny.gov.

THE ENTERTAINMENT COMMUNITY FUND
Primary source of support for industry workers nationally.

Emergency financial assistance program provides temporary financial assistance to industry workers with documented financial need due to unforeseen circumstances, application required.

Contact an office nearest to you:

Eastern Region - eastern@entertainmentcommunity.org - (917) 281-5919

Central Region - central@entertainmentcommunity.org - (312) 372-0989

Western Region - western@entertainmentcommunity.org - (323) 330-2455

Additional services:

• Workshops and general resources on dealing with a work stoppage
• Free and confidential social service programs address a wide array of challenges faced by people in performing arts and entertainment. Professional social workers offer support, counseling, and practical help. If you would like to speak with a social worker, click on application or contact an office nearest to you.
• Calendar of workshops - mindfulness, financial wellness, job search, apartment hunting and more
• Support groups - for many different issues ranging from anxiety issues to grief
• Additional online resources

FIRST ENTERTAINMENT CREDIT UNION
First Entertainment Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial institution headquartered in Hollywood that provides resources and support to those within the entertainment industry. The Credit Union has several programs available to help their members navigate the strike with as little impact as possible to their personal finances, including a program to skip payments if you hold certain loans with them as well as emergency relief loans. Please visit their website for full details. If you’re not yet a First Entertainment member, you can get additional information and easily join here, then take advantage of the resources they are providing.

NEED HELP PAYING BILLS
List of organizations and grants available to those struggling financially.

MODEST NEEDS
Offers grants designed to promote the self-sufficiency of individuals and families who, because they are working and live just above the poverty level, are ineligible for most types of conventional social assistance but who, all the same, are living one or two lost paychecks away from the kind of financial catastrophe that eventually leads to homelessness.

• Individuals and families are eligible to apply for assistance from Modest Needs if:

  • You are at least 18 years of age;

  • You are a legal resident of the United States or Canada;

  • You intend to apply for assistance either for yourself, or for a person living in your home;

  • Your household has at least one active bank account OR has filed a Federal Tax Return within in the past two years;

  • You have regular access to a computer and the Internet and can check your email and the Modest Needs website daily for the entire time that your application is active;

  • You have the ability to access a scanner or a fax machine for long enough to scan and upload or fax the documentation to support your application that Modest Needs will request from you during the grant application process;

  • If you rent (rather than own) your home, your household has a legal lease that your landlord and a member of your household both have signed. This lease must show the monthly cost of your rental, whether or not you pay all of this amount yourself;

  • Your household passes our 'income' and 'employment' tests, both of which are explained in the application process.

JEWISH FREE LOAN ASSOCIATION
If someone is out of work due to the strikes, they can apply for a 0% interest loan up to $3,000. Remind friends and family that because we are a non-profit, and not a bank, our loans come with zero interest and zero fees, so you only repay the amount borrowed. This means you can focus on what truly matters - getting these negotiations sorted out and getting back to work.

0% interest loans to cover:

• Basic living expenses, including rent, food, and utilities.

• Childcare expenses.

• Other emergency expenses.

Please click here to learn more. All borrowers must be residents of Los Angeles, Ventura, or Santa Barbara counties, cannot have a current loan with JFLA, and must have a guarantor on the loan. regardless of religion, gender, or race.

LABOR COMMUNITY SERVICES
Los Angeles union members can apply for an assistance program that can help union members with bill pay, rent assistance, and more. To apply, please fill out the LCS Assistance Intake Form.

THE MOTION PICTURE TELEVISION FUND (MPTF)
Industry non-profit that may provide direct emergency financial assistance depending on circumstances. Other resources may include help navigating government benefits, finding health insurance options and more.

For those under 65, please call the intake line at (323) 634-3888.
For those 65 or over, please call (323) 634-3866

Additional services include help navigating government benefits, finding alternative health insurance options, palliative care, veterans benefit assistance, social connectivity, caregiving resources, and more. MPTF’s highly trained social workers are available to help you deal with many of life’s challenges, managing stress, improving work-life balance, coping with life transitions, disability, or illness, aging challenges, caring for a loved one or loss of a loved one. They also work regularly with a large variety of community agencies and other relief organizations, and resources tailored to the needs of members of the entertainment industry.

NYC MAYOR’S OFFICE OF MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT (MOME)

Resources for Creative Sector Workers: with recorded zoom webinars and links.

UNION PLUS
Provides members impacted with mortgage assistance, insurance plans (auto, renters, homeowners, Medicare), scholarships and other financial assistance.

WILL ROGERS PIONEERS FOUNDATION
Provides financial aid and supportive counseling to individuals who work in theatrical exhibition, distribution and vendors exclusive to either sector, for a minimum of five recent years, who are encountering an illness, accident or injury.

A team of social workers confidentially assesses the needs and financial difficulties of motion picture industry members and provides aid to support health and well-being when income and assets are limited. The program currently has six types of assistance to help those in need: Social Service Consultations, the Salah Hassanein Medical Grant, Medical Equipment Aid, Vocational Rehabilitation, the Bernie Myerson Emergency Grant (temporary financial aid for housing, utilities, food, burial or cremation costs), and the Tom Sherak Pioneer Grant (monthly stipend for frail or disabled low-income senior veterans)). Financial aid is not available to treat alcohol or substance abuse. To request an application for financial aid call (888) 994-3863, ext. 2390, or email us.

BEHIND THE SCENES
For entertainment technology professionals who are seriously ill or injured. They are unable to provide financial assistance due to strikes.

• The Basic Needs Grant- For entertainment technology professionals who are seriously ill or injured and are seeking assistance with basic living expenses (such as rent or mortgage, property taxes, utilities, insurance and transportation) or for medical expenses (including health insurance, doctor and hospital bills, medication, physical therapy, home health care, and medical equipment. This grant is also appropriate if the eligible person has an immediate, dependent family member who is seriously ill or injured.

• The Counseling Grant -For entertainment technology professionals who would like to initiate or support ongoing counseling or participate in an in-patient or out-patient chemical dependency recovery program. Grants are issued directly to the recipient’s self-selected provider, which must be a licensed social worker, psychotherapist, psychiatrist, mental health facility, emergency medical facility, or chemical dependency recovery facility.

• The Funeral Assistance Grant  - For immediate family members of an entertainment technology professional who has passed away and assistance with funeral costs is needed.

Qualifications:

• Have earned your living for at least five years in the entertainment technology industry. This means that your major source of income is from your work in this industry, which includes being directly involved with a production-related craft:

  • Behind the scenes in any type of performance venue, or

  • Behind the camera, or

  • On the road, or

  • Work for companies who are directly involved in supplying entertainment technology products and services such as dealers, manufacturers, production or rental companies, consultants, and design firms.

• You do not need to be currently working in the industry as long as your time out of the industry is less than the total time you worked in the industry, unless you are retired or on permanent disability.

ONE BIG THING: APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR RENT RELIEF

What Happened?
This week, applications to pay off up to six months of back rent opened for LA residents.

Visit housing.lacity.org to apply!

Who is eligible?
You can visit housing.lacity.org to see if you’re eligible, but the criteria are pretty simple. You’re probably eligible if:

• You are a resident of the City of Los Angeles (regardless of immigration status).
• Someone in your household suffered loss of employment, reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship between March 2020 and now.
• You have unpaid rent since April 2020.
• Your household income is at or below 80% of the area median income (check housing.lacity.org to learn more!)

Why it Matters
LA isn’t just in a homelessness crisis right now, we’re in an eviction crisis. In our district alone, nearly 7,000 households received eviction notices just since February of this year and those numbers are only continuing to increase.

If we want to keep our homelessness crisis from spiraling further out of control, we need to make big time investments in homelessness prevention, and that means keeping vulnerable families off the streets and in their homes. This type of direct rental relief is proven to be the most effective and efficient way to do just that.

How can I help prevent evictions in my neighborhood?
If you go to housing.lacity.org, you can find flyers in 13 different languages to share with your neighbors and print out to post around your building.

You can also sign up to volunteer with our office to help fight needless evictions in the district.

Even if you don’t owe back rent, you can still help out, because this homelessness and eviction crisis affects all of us.

US DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Find your local Public Housing Agency (PHA) for assistance here.

If you need advice on any housing concern, contact a HUD-approved housing counseling agency or call toll-free (800) 569-4287.

LOCAL HOUSING LEGAL FAQs
This tool was created by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Stanford Legal Design Lab. Use it to find your local legal rules about housing, eviction, rent, and landlord-tenant issues. You can also find groups and guides that can help you with housing assistance.

Find your local Public Housing Agency (PHA) for assistance here

REBUILDING TOGETHER
Services to improve the homes and lives of low-income homeowners

HOME ADVISOR
Connects pre-screened service professionals including disability service contractors.
Toll Free: (866)384-1080

CALIFORNIA

CA MORTGAGE RELIEF PROGRAM
Homeowners can apply for mortgage relief including loan deferment and property taxes:
calhfa-prod.onair-gov.osaas.app/eligibility-navigator/#/

Check if you qualify for mortgage relief:
camortgagerelief.org/whoiseligible/

LA COUNTY FORCLOSURE PREVENTION ASSISTANCE
Provides free services to homeowners and small landlords from 1-on-1 conversations with experts to resources like tipsheets and webinars

LA COUNTY COVID TENANT PROTECTIONS
Current status as of their expiration 3/31/2023

LA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS (DCBA) HOUSING AND TENANT PROTECTIONS
Helps LA County residents with housing and tenant protections with information and assistance

LA HOMELESSNESS SERVICES AUTHORITY
Provides resources for individuals and households experiencing or at-risk of experiencing homelessness, including connections with shelters

LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (LIHEAP)
(LA COUNTY ONLY)
Helps keep families safe and healthy through initiatives that assist families with energy costs. We provide federally funded assistance in managing costs associated with: home energy bills, energy crises, weatherization and energy-related minor home repairs

Call: 1-866-674-6327
Email energyassistance@ncat.org Include your city, county, & state in the email

NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING SERVICES (NHS)
Los Angeles mortgage relief program for landlords with 1-4 rental properties, restrictions apply.

PACE ENERGY UTILITY ASSISTANCE
Offers water and energy assistance programs for low-income families/households

NEW YORK

CENTER FOR NYC NEIGHBORHOODS
For NY members needing help with every step of foreclosure and homeownership, click here or call 646-786-0888.    

Additional resources include a free financial health toolkit toolkit.cnycn.org and homeownership resources homeownerhelpny.org.

If you’re in need of local assistance and services due to being out of work, the following links will take you to resources for union members in need:

AFL-CIO COMMUNITY SERVICES RESOURCE DIRECTORY
Comprehensive searchable database of aid and services
helpmenow.myresourcedirectory.com

CHIRP/LA
LA County database for food, housing, and financial services.
chirpla.org/housing-services

ENTERTAINMENT COMMUNITY FUND
The ECF also provides workshops and general resources on dealing with work stoppage.
entertainmentcommunity.org/how-get-help-and-give-help-during-work-stoppage

GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS
Statewide housing resources for free and affordable housing programs
georgiahousingsearch.org/CommunityResources.html

NEW YORK 311
NY members can access housing, employment assistance including unemployment insurance, and benefits at portal.311.nyc.gov or by calling 311.