BEAUMONT, Calif. — Two storage units hold Karen Castoldi’s life’s work: thirty years of handmade costumes from her career as an acrobatic performer and teacher.

Castoldi turned to acrobatics after a successful career in Hollywood for over 10 years. She worked as a stunt double for actresses including Jane Fonda and Kirstie Alley, and appeared in the television shows "Magnum P.I." and "Knight Rider" in the 1980s. To this day, she still receives residual checks — sometimes for less than a dollar.

After a fall, Castoldi left the stunt world and became a professional acrobat. She opened the studio American Acrobats Performing Arts & Fitness in Redlands. But during the pandemic, she couldn’t keep the doors open even after receiving a Paycheck Protection Program loan and couldn’t afford to pay rent on her home, eventually becoming homeless.

"I just had nowhere to go because I also had the situation with the PPP and the pandemic," she said. "I used my retirement to keep the studio open until July, so I lost everything."

Castoldi added that she applied for unemployment, and even though she made $168,000 in 2019 as a self-employed studio owner, California’s unemployment system based her benefits on the residual checks she still receives as a traditional W-2 employee from her stunt work. The benefit checks, she explained, are $45 a week.

“I mean, maybe it will buy me food?” she said. “Can I even do food on $45 a week? I think I can.”

Castoldi is caught in a loophole that shortchanges mixed earners during the pandemic — those who receive income from W-2 wages and self-employment, or 1099, income. Many in the arts and entertainment industry, including actors and musicians, fall into this category because they often work multiple gigs.

An unintentional flaw in the March 2020 CARES Act meant workers with W-2 earnings could receive traditional unemployment benefits but were disqualified from receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) — relief that was created for independent, freelancer and contract workers.

The latest COVID-19 relief package sought to fix that by giving mixed earners an additional $100 on top of existing benefits, which Congressman Adam Schiff advocated for. The American Rescue Plan extended the extra benefit through Sept. 6.

Castoldi noted that she hasn’t received any additional money yet, and the last time she received her $45 benefit check was mid-December. She is worried about paying for her Beaumont storage units that hold her livelihood.

“It’s my artwork, you know, and I’m really afraid my storage units will be auctioned off,” she said.

Castoldi is currently staying at a friend’s place and vows to continue pushing the government to give mixed earners all the benefits they are due. For her, she said, it’s $22,000 based on her income as a self-employed studio owner.

“Even if they reimburse us six months from now, because I was saving my money that I was saving for retirement.”