Hi. I’m Riley. I bet you’re wondering how I got here…

The long and short of it is, I need to leave my current living situation ASAP and so am looking for a new place as soon as March 1. If I don’t have a place lined up by then, I’ll be loading up a storage unit and surfing couches until I do.

I’m a non-citizen, my credit isn’t great, and I don’t have anyone who I can ask to act as a guarantor, so I’m most likely going to have to rely on providing a first month, last month, and security deposit in order to secure a new place. If I work my ass off, sell as much of my art inventory and belongings as I can, and rely on some good old fashioned scrappiness, I can almost certainly get enough together within the next two months - but that means two months of housing insecurity and relying on the generosity of my community (which, while abundant, is not something I want to over-use).

My budget for rent is around $1200/month, so I’m trying to raise $3600 (the equivalent of the aforementioned first, last, and deposit), through working, selling art commissions, arranging loans, and taking donations - the latter of which will only be withdrawn from the gofundme in order to lock down a new living space. If I’m able to raise enough without the donations, then I won’t touch the gofundme, and all donations will be returned. Commissions can be arranged privately or bought through an online system which I will set up in the next few days. Disclaimer: if a lot of people buy commissions it’s going to take me a few months to get through them all, so reach out to me if you have a deadline in mind!

You can find more details about commissions here: https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE4NTYzNjEwMDc5MDA0OTIx?story_media_id=3829899934674196122&igsh=cTBqbjJiZHdua29s