Fuck COVID, or: Our government is a failure.
Donation protected
edit: See latest update. the date has been extended, but I'm still in a great deal of trouble, and there's surprisingly little help out there for someone with no family, no addictions, no impending pregnancy, and no official statement of disability.
As many of you know, I am about to be COVID-evicted. I need to be out of this apartment, where I am currently an illegal sublet the landlord doesn't know about, by 12/31. In theory it would take a few months to be turfed after the landlord files with the court on 1/1, but in practice the utilities are being shut off by a departing roommate (or, more accurately, the family member who has been paying the bills) at the end of the month, so I cannot stay. For publicity reasons I have headed this fundraiser with a picture of a rat, who will also be homeless in 2021 if I cannot get this shit sorted.
I had a couch to crash on with a couple I know, but they have broken up. Neither one is going to a place where they could accommodate me, even temporarily.
I am a performer and a skilled technical professional in live theater. My entire industry has been shut down by COVID. Because I am not union, do not work in film, and do not make enough of my income doing any one thing in the arts, I do not qualify for any of the actor/dancer/performer funds. Unemployment, if it ever comes through, is insufficient. I have no savings left, and my only steady income is a Patreon that pulls in about $250/mo. I get the occasional unsteady income from taking in tailoring and mending work, teaching dance or makeup lessons over webcam, and pet-sitting for the rare person who still has to travel.
I not in contact with any family, for good reason. I have no friends who can afford to lend me large amounts of money, or take me on a (semi-)permanent basis. I have contacted the emergency housing people in my area. They forwarded me to someone else. I'm waiting for my answer. I don't know what, if anything, they will do to help me.
I don't want to end up in a shelter for a lot of reasons, but one of the biggest is that just about everything I DO do for money right now needs a steady internet connection. An hour a day at the public library is not sufficient. Tethering my phone is not enough bandwidth. If I lose that I lose my only steady income.
I do have food stamps, but I still need to maintain my CharlieCard (about $50/mo of public transit fare, or $90 for an unlimited monthly pass), phone service ($25/mo), an Amazon Prime account ($6.99/mo, because they are the only grocery service here that accepts food stamps as payment, discounted for those on aid), a CVS ExtraCare account ($5/mo, because the subscription gets me $10/mo in CVS ExtraBucks automatically, and a 20% discount on CVS brand OTC medications and other personal care items), and a YouTube Premium/Google Play Music account ($10/mo, because I use it for the online dance lessons, and I need to stay sane somehow).
I also pay $16/week for a dance fitness class that is currently substituting for physical therapy, which is difficult and/or expensive for me to access. I was in crazy amounts of pain when the studio shut for lockdown, so I cannot give this up.
I don't actually know how much money I will need, but initially I am shooting for $1000. I will need someone to move my stuff (one room only, with luggage/boxes, bed, rat cage, and small table), either into storage or into a new place, because I don't have a car and am not physically capable of moving furniture without injuring myself. I'm also aiming to get $100-200 to buy the spare camera, mic, and monitor I've been using for video work from the roommate who actually owns it, so I can take it with me when I move.
Our government is still hostage to a giant orange manbaby and several decrepit Republicans, so I have little hope of either another moratorium or a relief package that would result in either money or employment for me. Until someone finds Mitch McConnell's phylactery and destroys it, crowdfunding is the only thing I can think of.
As many of you know, I am about to be COVID-evicted. I need to be out of this apartment, where I am currently an illegal sublet the landlord doesn't know about, by 12/31. In theory it would take a few months to be turfed after the landlord files with the court on 1/1, but in practice the utilities are being shut off by a departing roommate (or, more accurately, the family member who has been paying the bills) at the end of the month, so I cannot stay. For publicity reasons I have headed this fundraiser with a picture of a rat, who will also be homeless in 2021 if I cannot get this shit sorted.
I had a couch to crash on with a couple I know, but they have broken up. Neither one is going to a place where they could accommodate me, even temporarily.
I am a performer and a skilled technical professional in live theater. My entire industry has been shut down by COVID. Because I am not union, do not work in film, and do not make enough of my income doing any one thing in the arts, I do not qualify for any of the actor/dancer/performer funds. Unemployment, if it ever comes through, is insufficient. I have no savings left, and my only steady income is a Patreon that pulls in about $250/mo. I get the occasional unsteady income from taking in tailoring and mending work, teaching dance or makeup lessons over webcam, and pet-sitting for the rare person who still has to travel.
I not in contact with any family, for good reason. I have no friends who can afford to lend me large amounts of money, or take me on a (semi-)permanent basis. I have contacted the emergency housing people in my area. They forwarded me to someone else. I'm waiting for my answer. I don't know what, if anything, they will do to help me.
I don't want to end up in a shelter for a lot of reasons, but one of the biggest is that just about everything I DO do for money right now needs a steady internet connection. An hour a day at the public library is not sufficient. Tethering my phone is not enough bandwidth. If I lose that I lose my only steady income.
I do have food stamps, but I still need to maintain my CharlieCard (about $50/mo of public transit fare, or $90 for an unlimited monthly pass), phone service ($25/mo), an Amazon Prime account ($6.99/mo, because they are the only grocery service here that accepts food stamps as payment, discounted for those on aid), a CVS ExtraCare account ($5/mo, because the subscription gets me $10/mo in CVS ExtraBucks automatically, and a 20% discount on CVS brand OTC medications and other personal care items), and a YouTube Premium/Google Play Music account ($10/mo, because I use it for the online dance lessons, and I need to stay sane somehow).
I also pay $16/week for a dance fitness class that is currently substituting for physical therapy, which is difficult and/or expensive for me to access. I was in crazy amounts of pain when the studio shut for lockdown, so I cannot give this up.
I don't actually know how much money I will need, but initially I am shooting for $1000. I will need someone to move my stuff (one room only, with luggage/boxes, bed, rat cage, and small table), either into storage or into a new place, because I don't have a car and am not physically capable of moving furniture without injuring myself. I'm also aiming to get $100-200 to buy the spare camera, mic, and monitor I've been using for video work from the roommate who actually owns it, so I can take it with me when I move.
Our government is still hostage to a giant orange manbaby and several decrepit Republicans, so I have little hope of either another moratorium or a relief package that would result in either money or employment for me. Until someone finds Mitch McConnell's phylactery and destroys it, crowdfunding is the only thing I can think of.
Organizer
Circe Rowan
Organizer
Malden, MA