Hi there. I'm Quinton. And for the past five years, I've worked hard in the games journalism industry, publishing thousands of articles to the best of my ability. It isn't easy work, but it's work I've loved, and I consider myself fortunate to have been a part of it for so long.

Last month, my primary source of employment all but ended. I no longer earn base pay, nor any form of bonuses. I am paid if a written article achieves a certain threshold.

These thresholds are increasingly difficult to reach as the industry craters and contracts for myriad reasons; the odds are tremendously stacked. As anyone who's witnessed this shift in policy can tell you, I have essentially been laid off.

I come from a challenging childhood. My grandmother raised me, and she barely got by; we scraped through via HUD, EBT, and all those other acronyms. Early adulthood was worse—with my grandmother's passing, I didn't always have a roof over my head. I'm telling you this, all these years later, because I've been on the streets. I remember what it's like when things can't get much worse.

Thankfully, I am not presently there just yet. I have a roof. Four walls, too. I have two beautiful cats, Yukiko and Marie, who I love with all my heart. But I also have, at present, minimal job prospects for freelance work. I've put feelers out as best I can, and very little has come of it. Every day, I push to find something, but every day, my extremely limited funds nearly run out.

As I write this, I have $90 left to my name. I pay for rent. I pay for electricity. I pay for the internet. I pay for my phone service. I feed my cats. I feed myself. I desperately need some help.

Relying upon something like GoFundMe isn't easy. It kind of hurts just typing this. I don't like asking for help. Never have; never will. But I'm now at that point.

If, and only if, you have the means to financially assist me during this difficult transitionary period in my life, know that I'll be eternally grateful. If you have job prospects for my industry or something adjacent, then goodness, do tell me! I want to be working full-time again. I want to be self-sufficient, as I'd managed to be for so long. But I sure as heck don't want to be out on the streets again. So... here we are.

Thank you so much for reading.