HELP MUSICIANS LAUNCHES £5M CORONAVIRUS FINANCIAL HARDSHIP FUND

Today Help Musicians has launched the Coronavirus Financial Hardship Fund, a new offering specifically created to alleviate some of the immediate financial pressures that many professional musicians may currently be facing. The impact of the Coronavirus on musicians’ lives and careers is unprecedented, and it’s been recognised that the charity’s normal person-centred approach of Health & Welfare support needs to be boosted in this exceptional period to give as many musicians as possible immediate financial relief. A fund of £5m has therefore been created to help reduce the worry many musicians are experiencing about their mounting household expenses. Eligible musicians are able to apply for a one-off payment of £500 through an online form. We encourage musicians only to apply if they are indeed suffering significant financial hardship to enable us to provide help quickly to those who need it the most. Help Musicians’ Chief Executive James Ainscough said: “For almost one hundred years, Help Musicians has worked hard to make a meaningful difference to the lives of musicians, and there has rarely been a time where that has been as important as it is now. Our Health & Welfare team has received hundreds of calls and emails over the last week from musicians needing urgent financial support. The Coronavirus Financial Hardship Fund has been created to provide emergency financial aid to musicians in an urgent manner at this critical moment. We continue to work in collaboration with many industry partners to keep the vital resource website coronamusicians.info up-to-date, and our usual channels of person-centred aid continue. Given the magnitude of the situation, only the government can fully provide what musicians require to survive the months that lie ahead. We are shocked at the government’s reticence to help some of the most vulnerable workers, and we are fully supportive of the campaign for meaningful help to be provided. In the meantime, we hope however that this emergency funding option will help thousands of musicians in the wee

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