Creatives Care Network, Inc. (CCN) is a NY-registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our mission is to ensure the future of the arts by providing access to affordable mental health care for artists. Creatives Care built a network of mental health providers who have a personal connection to the arts and are willing to see artists and musicians at significantly reduced fees. Our staff provides free consultations to artists on navigating the mental health system. It helps connect artists to affordable treatment options using our referral network and other low-fee treatment options. Creatives Care increases awareness of the role of mental health in the arts by organizing concerts and events, building relationships with artist communities, and creating educational programming.
Artists have struggled with mental health challenges and difficulty accessing treatment for decades. Becoming an artist involves significant personal sacrifice, as developing the necessary skills and expertise requires years of training. Artists often contend with unpredictable and irregular work opportunities, financial insecurity, peer competition, the pressure of constant criticism, and even workplace harassment. Unsurprisingly, artists face high rates of mental health difficulties. According to a 2016 study by Help Music UK, 71% of classical musicians reported issues with anxiety and panic attacks and 61% reported symptoms of depression, a rate up to three times higher than that of the general public. These difficulties are compounded for artists from underrepresented or underprivileged backgrounds and those who additionally contend with the ongoing stigma around mental illness and treatment. Artists also face significant barriers to accessing treatment because many lack adequate health insurance. Accessing affordable mental health services is especially challenging in New York City, because few mental health providers are able to accept health insurance, requiring significant out-of-pocket fees.
The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic has propelled this crisis into a state of emergency. According to a recent report from the state comptroller's office, two-thirds of performing arts-related jobs in New York City have disappeared. Most performing artists have been rendered unemployed, often without access to unemployment or health care benefits or the education or training to temporarily supplement their income outside the arts. In addition to financial hardship, artists today are contending with a crisis of identity, faith, and confidence as they face a future in the arts that will remain uncertain and precarious for years to come.
Protecting the future of the arts requires not only supporting arts institutions but also individual artists themselves. Creatives Care achieves this by bringing the mental health, artist, and supporter communities together to invest in artist well-being and development, finally addressing a crisis that has persisted for too long.
