Hi. My name is Alana and I NEVER thought I would say this, but I do not have the rent. PLEASE HELP ME RAISE THE RENT MONEY!

I have lived in my SF Bay Area apartment for 11 years. The rent has gone up by 40% while my income has not kept pace. I am an artist/designer and a 76 yr old Granny.

I have no plans of retiring but for the last year, I have been working on my illustration and surface design portfolio. (you can see my work at www.radish.studio or on Instagram @RadishDotStudio) and am working toward taking my work in a new direction. But, this creative adventure has not paid off yet so I am, for now, living strictly on my Social Security which doesn't cover my rent.

Because rents in the Bay Area are killer, I have this plan to go live affordably in Mexico for a while and work remotely. I have been searching for Senior Affordable Housing for 5 years now. I will continue sending in applications and hope I get lucky and land a spot in a senior affordable unit in the Bay Area near my family and friends. I CAN'T TAKE THE STRESS anymore. And now, just before I'm ready to pack up for South of the Border, I do not have the rent and am about to be tossed out onto the street.

I'm not the kind of girl to be homeless. (um, is anyone, really?)

What I will use the money for will be to (1) Pay my April and May Rents while I recover from some upcoming surgeries, (2) Put my belongings in Storage, (3) Buy a plane ticket and a used laptop, and (4) start my Mexico Arty Expat adventure.

Your help means the absolute WORLD to me. If you can make a donation to my cause I will be eternally grateful.