Help Sam survive unemployment

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! You unbelievably generous people have already contributed enough to cover November rent and groceries. I can't tell you how much this means to me. I can refocus these next few weeks, concentrate on job-hunting, and get some much-needed rest at home with my partner and my dog.

Now it's time to think further ahead. It's difficult to overstate just how sparse the job market is right now. Even retail and barista jobs are few and far between. With the immediate expenses covered, the next goal is breathing room. If I could head into November knowing December's rent and expenses were covered, I could apply that much more energy to networking, independent research and skill-building, and self-care.

Here's how far we've come and where we could go next:

November
Rent ........................... $1625 - Goal reached Oct 21!
  +Groceries ............ $2025 - Goal reached Oct 22!
  +Expenses ............. $2565 - Goal reached Oct 22!

December
Rent ........................... $4190
  +Groceries ............ $4590
  +Expenses ............. $5130

Thank you all so much for all you've done. I want to personally promise you all that this money will only be used for rent, food, and regular billed expenses, unless you specifically ask me to use it for something else.

If I am able to secure a full-time job before I have used all of the money from this campaign, any remaining funds will be donated in full to The 519, a critically important LGBTQ+ community centre located here in Toronto's Gay Village.


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The end of the month is coming up, and I've been unemployed since finishing grad school in April.

Because I'm not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and because COVID isn't the direct cause of my unemployment, I'm not eligible for social assistance here in Ontario. And there just aren't many jobs up for grabs at the moment - in or out of my field.

This year has been brutal, and it doesn't seem to be done throwing punches.

My rent is $1,625. Food usually comes to around $400/month. Other expenses (pet insurance, wifi, our storage unit, etc.) are another $540. I'm lucky to have a partner who is able to help with some of this; but not very much, and certainly not for very long.

So: $2000 from this campaign would cover my rent and most groceries for the next month. $2500 would cover most of my other expenses too. Any more would allow me to breathe and focus my November energy on securing a job in my field.

None of this money will be used for anything other than rent, groceries, and regular monthly living expenses. This isn't for travel or gadgets or fashion, or any of the other fun things I'd much rather be spending thousands of dollars a month on. This is about keeping the gears turning during a global crisis.

With these expenses taken care of, I won't have to choose between eating lunch and taking my dog to the vet. I won't have to entertain the possibility of uprooting my life and moving back to the U.S., where my partner won't be able to follow. Most of all, I won't have to use up so much of my daily energy worrying.

When we don't have to worry about our survival, everything else - everything else - gets easier.

Any amount you can give will make a huge difference. Even if all you can offer is $5 and a request that I buy myself a latte, that will make a huge difference.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.


***Please note that because I do not have a Canadian passport or other Canadian government-issued ID, GoFundMe has a technicality that means I will not be able to withdraw the funds myself. Instead, my partner Ryan Irvine (who is wonderful and good and you will like them a lot) will be the one initially withdrawing the funds. Ryan will of course immediately transfer the funds to me.