Help disabled artist with Debt Relief and Financial Security

Hey there,

In 2023, my friends and online audience got to watch as I changed careers, had to leave the city due to rent hikes and move in with a partner. I wish I could tell you that my new job is blooming, I live in a cute apartment and my partner and I are more in love than ever. Instead, I had to spend over 6k (with the help of friends as well) in January to move my whole life away from my abusive ex-boyfriend. This money was meant to help me during down season at my job, go towards rent and groceries...not another move, now even farther from my opportunities. I spent over 10k last year, as I had to move TWICE, once into his home, and once to leave him.

My credit card is hurting me the most currently, as all of my debt from my 'adventure in surviving' is only getting worse as I do not have money to put towards it, and now the bank just directly takes it from my account-- which makes me further behind on everything. The money that is raised here goes towards that directly, as once that's taken care of, I can work on moving my life forward.

I signed up for financial assistance in Ontario, and looked into disability but it's still not enough to cover rent, or even really get me through the month.

I couldn't ask for help publicly last year, as every time my ex caught wind of it, he would threaten to throw out my belongings, lock me out of the apartment or whatever else he could think of and would demand I take down the post or fundraiser. I cannot thank everyone enough who reached out during what is easily one of my lowest moments. He made me homeless in November, after I caught him cheating, which resulted in me couch surfing, sleeping at my job and eventually with the help of an aunt, staying in a hotel. I was at the mercy of playing nice and following rules that changed every day otherwise I was punished.

Realistically, no matter how many commissions I take, stickers I sell or tattoos I do, I am behind. I work 5 days a week, and on days where I have no appointments, I don't earn any money. I still have to pay to get to work, and I rarely eat while I am there to save money. I try to walk as much as possible, but my job is 30 minutes away and now we are in the middle of Canadian winter. I cannot afford to get sick, and try my best to only pay for transit or rides on really bad weather or below zero days. During the summer I kept getting heat stroke from walking to work.

I am a tattoo artist and freelance designer, and unfortunately in Sarnia there is hardly any work for either of these things. All of my clientele for tattoos are located in the GTA so I try (when I can afford it) to go out there every other month to connect with clients and cultivate my career. I cannot get a job in my field of graphic design in Sarnia, and jobs are so competitive, I can't even get a job at the coffee shop. I keep applying to remote jobs for things like customer service, in hopes of being able to save faster to move back to Toronto, but out of the 50+ resumes I've submitted, two people have reached out only to result in nothing.

As if the winter isn't harsh on its own, I am also disabled physically. I have fibromyalgia which causes flare ups in my shoulder and neck area on my worst days and just my knees and hips on a good day. This causes me to throw up at worst, and not be able to sit up right at best. Walking to work is not only exhausting, but on a bad pain day, it can take me out for a few days as I am not physically strong enough the next day. Not to mention I can lose strength in my hands or it can cause me to shake, which as a tattoo artist, isn't ideal for myself or the client. I've already gotten in trouble for 'missing' work, even though there is no work to do during off season.

I am not close to my family and rarely speak to them. My parents help me when they can, but they cannot afford to pay my rent or cover any of my bills. Most months I am a couple hundred short on my rent or bills. I do multiple activities online involving art or my other skill sets trying to raise money to help out throughout the month but I am so burnt out from my trauma, financial despair and constantly working on low power that some of these activities I cannot continue, or they get left behind. I cannot stream on bad pain days because of my head/balance, I can't draw because I can't look at screens or hold a pencil, and unfortunately those days are just write offs.

I've secured a roommate in Toronto, and my goal for 2025 is to save up enough to get back out there, and work fulltime in the art field. It may seem that these career paths are not working out for me, but Toronto has been nothing but kind in these new fields, as my guest spots do well, I do my best at selling at conventions (I took a 5 year hiatus from cons and I have been loving being back!) and I get more opportunities to sell at shops/markets and just odd jobs in general. There is absolutely nothing like this in my hometown, and people here do not see value in art, let alone tattoos. I can feel it in my gut that things will get better, and that this will all work out, but I'd like to get back out to my home, where my community and friends are. Sarnia is temporary for me, and I do not belong here.