Events Management and ArtistWellbeing
If you're in distress or crisis right now and need immediate support,
please don't wait, go straight to Get Help Now
or call the Support Act Wellbeing Helpline on 1800 959 500 (free, 24/7).
The Wellbeing First
Responder Program
No artist should ever have nowhere to turn.
So we made somewhere.
Our Why
We're artists ourselves. We know what it's like to be mid-season and not know if you'll make rent.
To finish a hard show and have nowhere to take what it brought up.
To have something happen at work, something that felt wrong, or worse and
not know who you could tell, or whether telling anyone would cost you the gig.
Cherri On Top started as a production company.
The Wellbeing First Responder Program grew out of what we saw happening to the people
we were working with and the gap between what they needed and what existed.
We're a social enterprise, this work isn't a side project or a marketing exercise.
It's the reason we're here.
The Program
The Wellbeing First Responder Program is Cherri On Top's award-winning framework
for ensuring that everyone who works in or around our productions has access to trained
support, a safe reporting pathway and the knowledge that someone has their back.
At its core, the program means:
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A trained Wellbeing First Responder present at or available during productions
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A clear, confidential reporting pathway for anyone who needs to raise a concern
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Assistance to connect with professional support services when someone needs more than a conversation
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A Code of Conduct that is lived, not just posted
Our experience with Victoria Police means performers who need to report serious workplace matters have a clear pathway to do so. We are a support point for that process, not a gatekeeper.
Who's it for
We know that sometimes the day can seem a lot less dark by simply having someone to willing to
listen, but that too many of us are lacking a support network that understands what being an artist is really like. As artists ourselves we have seen it all and as we have lost too many loved ones already.
The Wellbeing First Responder program was created to ensure that no artist ever finds themselves without somewhere to turn. Whether it is just a quick question on unpaid invoices or even short term support to access professional counselling or file formal reports we provide an ear and a shoulder to lean on to help you get what you need to get back to being you.
The program was built for the performing arts but its principles apply to anyone who works in
high-pressure, irregular or contract-based creative environments. If you're a performer, crew member
or creative worker and you want to know that the production you're joining takes your
wellbeing seriously, this is what that looks like in practice.
If you're a venue or production company and you want
to understand how to build something like this
into your own practice, click here.
If you need support right now
This program isn't a crisis line, but we know that not everyone lands on a wellbeing page because they're doing fine. If you're struggling right now, please use one of these:
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Support Act Wellbeing Helpline - 1800 959 500 (free, 24/7, for music and arts workers)
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Lifeline - 13 11 14 (24/7)
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13YARN - 13 92 76 (24/7, for First Nations people)
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1800RESPECT -1800 737 732 (24/7, family and sexual violence support)
Click here for our full list of services and crisis lines.
You can also contact us directly. We are not a crisis service, but we will respond
and we will help you find the right support.