Pandemic drama

Austin creative sector closes the curtain on 28,852 jobs due to COVID-19 economy

Organizations like the Ballet Austin have been hard hit.

Photo by Tony Spielberg

Cue the sad violin solo. From April through July, the pandemic hammered Austin's creative sector to the tune of 28,852 jobs and $1.26 billion in sales, a new report shows.

The report, which examines the economic impact of COVID-19, was published August 11 by the Brookings Institution think tank. It estimates that during the four-month span from April 1 through July 31, Austin racked up a cumulative 32.6 percent loss of jobs and a cumulative 9.2 percent loss in sales connected to the creative sector. The sector includes fine arts, performing arts, music, film, fashion, and design.

According to the Texas Cultural Trust, 11.1 percent of the local workforce was employed in the creative sector in 2017.

As of August 2, spending on arts, entertainment, and recreation by consumers in the Austin area had fallen by more than 48 percent compared with January 2020, according to the Opportunity Insights Economic Tracker. Overall, spending in Austin is actually up 2.4 percent, driven by more money spent in grocery stores and healthcare-related sectors.

Offering some relief is the City of Austin, which is allocating $3.5 million to fund the Austin Creative Worker Relief Grant. Local creative workers impacted by the pandemic can currently apply for a $2,000 grant.

Obviously, the city's creative sector isn’t alone. Here are the estimated cumulative losses for April through July in the state’s three other major metros:

Dallas-Fort Worth — 62,485 jobs (31.1 percent decline) and nearly $2.77 billion in sales (9.5 percent decline). According to the Texas Cultural Trust, 8.5 percent of the region’s workforce was employed in the creative sector in 2017.
Houston — 42,587 jobs (32.5 percent loss) and nearly $1.6 billion in sales (10.6 percent loss). The trust says 7.6 percent of the Houston area’s workforce was employed in the creative sector in 2017.
San Antonio — 15,639 (32.8 percent decline) and $552 million in sales (11 percent). Texas Cultural Trust notes 6 percent of the region’s workforce was employed in the creative sector in 2017.

Among Texas metro areas, San Antonio experienced the biggest percentage drops in both jobs and sales during the four-month period covered by the report.

“The creative economy — which is so critical to our overall economy, our society, and our culture — is under grave threat from the COVID-19 crisis,” the report says. “Imagine our cities and communities devoid of arts and culture, with no concerts, no theaters, and no art galleries. For the creative economy to survive and thrive again, a broad-based recovery strategy is needed.”

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Shelter to Service

Dripping Springs nonprofit trains service dogs rescued from shelters

Photo courtesy of KVUE

The group estimates that it's gotten more than 1,000 dogs out of the shelter system.

For the past 35 years, a service dog training nonprofit in Dripping Springs has transformed unwanted dogs into essential partners for Texans living with significant challenges.

Sheri Soltes, founder and CEO of Service Dogs, Inc., says the dogs they train help serve people with hearing or mobility disabilities. The canines also comfort those enduring traumatic events.

In a time where most animal shelters in Central Texas are over capacity, Service Dogs, Inc. is handing out second chances to pups with potential to make a difference in people’s lives.

“They're sort of like the cousins to guide dogs,” Soltes said. “Except we're unique because we get our dogs from animal shelters instead of having a breeding program. So we help the dog and we help the person.”

She says the nonprofit can’t adopt every dog because the pups must meet specific qualifications, narrowing down from their age to their temperament.

Soltes says dogs must be at least a year and a half old in order to be X-rayed to assess their health, must be extremely people-oriented and should be comfortable being in public settings.

She says Service Dogs, Inc. may bring back one out of 500 dogs in a shelter.

“We've probably trained well over a 1,000, probably closer to 1,200 dogs by this time over 36 years. Any dog that we adopt from a shelter, if it doesn't complete the training, we don't take it back to the shelter, will find it a good pet home. So, they're going to win either way with us,” Soltes said.

Depending on the pooches’ temperament and personality, they’ll be trained in any and all of four programs available.

Soltes says the nonprofit trains the canines to be hearing dogs that can alert people who are deaf or hard of hearing. They could be trained for people with mobility disabilities, learning to open and close doors or steady someone’s balance.

She says they also train dogs to work in areas devastated by catastrophic storms, in courthouses in the victim's assistance departments or with first responders struggling with their mental health.

“They're not always the right tool for every kind of job, but they're very, very helpful,” she said.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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