Hello friends!

I am currently raising funds for 2 months of rent and utilities (October & December). After over 3 years at my previous job at Assemble PGH, I had to quit in July to preserve my mental health and humanity.

The workplace culture had been eroding steadily since late 2023 (for reasons you can imagine), and came to painfully racist head for me personally (along with a prolonged loss of HR resources exacerbating multiple health and discrimination-based violations) in July of this year.

In my final months, I had been asked by the outgoing HR person to write a document explaining every prior issue that I had brought directly to management over the past 3 years (due to lack of communication between management and the third-party HR provider) , and in that 9-page document I requested $3200 in reparations for not only my mental health and constant overexplaining of racism to non-Black adult coworkers over the past 2 years, but to manage the medically confirmed health issues that I had developed since working there due to both stress and constant exposure to mold.

I was assured (verbally, as there were no emails from anyone in HR or management confirming receipt of this lengthy document they'd requested) by the executive director that she was "looking into workplace compensation pathways" to honor my reparations request. Unfortunately, after not being pointed to filling out a single form, or even having an HR person to continue working with on the issue, I chose myself over white supremacy and bureaucracy. While I do not want the larger community to have to cover an tab that is owed by SPECIFIC individuals with privilege who are fully aware of the harm they've caused with ample proof of communication on my end, I also do not want to lose having a place to live.

At this point (considering the job market) I have exhausted my savings and investments covering my rent & bills since July, and need assistance covering October & December rent & utilities while I continue to look for stable work. I do have a gig coming up in mid-October that will cover a good chunk of November bills, and I'm hoping I'll be back on my feet by the end of year! Anything you're able to share is much appreciated, and if you've got any leads on work in: marketing/comms, 3D graphics/game dev, art education, or general office administrative work (specializing in arts education), please send them my way, or direct them to www.khadijat.com.