The Haven Foundation for Artists

If you make a living full-time off of the arts and have been struck by a debilitating tragedy (or if you fear such an event) you might want to check out The Haven Foundation.

The Foundation was formed by Stephen King in order to help artists. In his words:

In the summer of 1999, I was struck by a careless driver and nearly killed while taking my daily walk. It was ten months before I was able to work productively again. Some years later, a good friend of mine, audio reader Frank Muller, suffered terrible head injuries as a result of a motorcycle accident. He never worked again. My luck was infinitely better than Muller’s, but the two events set me thinking about the uniquely perilous situation of many freelance artists. The majority of mid-list writers, audio readers, and freelancers in the book and publishing industry have little or no financial cushion in the event of a sudden catastrophic accident such as that suffered by Muller and myself. Many aren’t affiliated with any professional associations or guilds that can help them in the event of such reversals. Even those who are affiliated with organizations such as The Authors’ Guild cannot look for much beyond token help over a short period of time.

My response to this has been the creation of The Haven Foundation. Its goals will be fourfold:

First, to establish a compassionate and committed group of board members willing to sift through cases and identify those where the need seems to be the greatest. These “greatest need” cases would be freelance members of the fine arts community – who have found themselves unable to work due to disease or accident. We will also focus on freelancers who lost their homes and work spaces (with freelancers these are often the same) as a result of natural disasters or other catastrophic events.

Second, to help a number of these individuals each year, based on need.

Third, to establish cut-off points for such help. As I have discovered, the decision to cut off aid is an agonizing one, and best made by a group rather than by an individual. I have come to believe, however, that it must be made if help is to be rendered to the many rather than the few.

Fourth, to seek fundraising opportunities so that The Haven Foundation can continue to do this work.

Stephen King

Go check out their guidelines, bookmark their page, and consider donating.

 


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Quick note from Lance about this post: when you choose to comment (or share this post with your friends) you help other readers just like you.

How?

Well, see, your comments & sharing whisper a few things to those who come after you:

The first is that this site is a safe place to speak up & stay curious. That it's civil. That discussion is encouraged. That there's no such thing as a stupid question (being a student of Socrates, I really and truly believe this). That talking to one another and growing together is more important than anything we could possibly publish. That the point is growing in virtue and growing together and growing wise. That discovery is invention, deference is originality, that we all can rise together. The only folks I'm going to take comments down from are obvious jerks who argue in bad faith, don't stay curious, or actively make personal attacks. And, frankly, I'd rather we talk here than on some social media farm — I will never show ads and the only thing I'm selling anywhere on the site or my mailing list is just the stuff I make.

You're also helping folks realize that anything you & they build together is far more important than anything you come to me to read. I take the things I write about seriously, but I don't take myself seriously: I play the fool, I hate cults of personality, and I also don't really like being the center of attention (believe it or not). I would much rather folks connect because of an introduction I've made or because they commented with one another back and forth and then build something beautiful together. My favorite contributions have been lifelong business and love partnerships from two people who have forgotten I introduced them. Some of my closest friends NOW I literally met on another blog's comment section fifteen years ago. I would love for that to happen here — let two of you meet and let me fade into the background.

Last, you help me revise. I'm wrong. Often. I'm not embarrassed to admit it or worried about being cancelled or publicly shamed. I make a fool out of myself (that's sort of the point). So as I get feedback, I can say, "I was wrong about that" and set a model for curious, consistent learning, and growing in wisdom. I'm blind to what I don't know and as grows the island of my knowledge so grows the shoreline of my ignorance. It's the recovery of innocence on the far end of experience: a child is in a permanent state of wonder. So are the wise: they aren't afraid of saying, "I don't know. That's new: please teach me." That's my goal, comments help. And I read all reviews: my skin's tough, but that's not license to be needlessly cruel. We teach one another our habits and there's a way to civilly demolish an idea without demolishing another person: just because I personally can take the world's meanest 1-star review doesn't mean we should teach one another how to be crueler on the internet.

For three magical reasons — your brave curiosity, your community, & my ignorance:

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