Digital toolkit launched to help creative freelancers with mental health
Lucy Thraves
Monday, May 17, 2021
As part Mental Health Awareness Week 2021, a new toolkit has been launched to help creative artists and freelancers take better care of their mental health and businesses in the wake of Covid-19.
The toolkit, called Balance, has been developed by creative sector social enterprise the hub in partnership with the Creative Industries Federation and the mental health charity Mindapples.
The free-to-access service provides video and audio content for helping freelancers weather the pandemic's lasting impact on life and livelihood. Topics covered include combating stress, boosting creativity and productivity, resilience, reaching new audiences, and post-pandemic business plans.
Balance has been co-created with artists and creative freelancers who’ve taken part in monthly Balance talks.
Julia Payne, director of the hub, said: 'Like many of our peers in the creative sector, most of our work disappeared back in March 2020. We saw the scale of the impact Covid was having on our fellow creatives and wanted to help.
'This Balance toolkit is the culmination of a year’s work to help artists and creative freelancers take better care of their minds and their careers and businesses. During the pandemic, millions of people turned to the arts to get them through. We hope that this toolkit will in turn help our peers in the creative sector get through what looks set to be a tough come back, providing not just the practical tools they need to weather Covid’s ongoing impact, but also hope, inspiration and a sense of community.'
The Balance toolkit is available at https://thehubbalance.com and is free to use. More resources will be added on a regular basis.
