Talk:Help Musicians

Name of organisation
The organisation is now known simply as Help Musicians (no UK). This needs updating. Owen Ralph (talk) 13:48, 9 June 2021 (UTC)

Covid-19 pandemic response

 * What I think should be changed (include citations):

When the UK went into lockdown in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Help Musicians launched its Coronavirus Hardship Fund to support musicians who were struggling financially due to loss of work. After distributing over £8m in one-off grants to 17,000 musicians facing immediate difficulties, a second fund of £2.5m was exhausted in just five days in June 2020 due to the volume of applications. As of April 2021, the total hardship funding delivered exceeded £15.5m to over 21,000 musicians, with a fouth round of funding targeting self-employed musicians who did not qualify for the UK Government's Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.

Help Musicians also undertook research into how the pandemic affected musicians' mental health, finding 87% of the 700 musicians surveyed reported their mental health had deteriorated, and 24% going so far as to say they were considering leaving the profession for good due to the combined effect of the pandemic and Brexit. In response to this mental health crisis, the charity announced an expansion of its Music Minds Matter service—whose flagship helpline had seen a 65% increase in calls—by setting up a national network of local support groups, and introducing targeted signposting to help musicians find the most relevant support and advice.

The charity's response to the pandemic was a notable moment in its history, evidenced by the significant media attention and increased public profile, and therefore deserves an entry in this article.
 * Why it should be changed:

Owen Ralph (talk) 09:31, 16 June 2021 (UTC)


 * Done with minor edits, as some of the claims lack WP:IS and WP:RS references (they must not be primary references). Ferkjl (talk) 21:11, 15 September 2021 (UTC)