Hi all,

So this is a blatant plea for help. Not even of sorts, as I first had in the title and edited out; but I’ve had an epiphany today that I can’t keep doing my day job and INDG. I am unable to give the work that #INeedDiverseGames requires the attention it deserves and maintain a demanding, unfulfilling and frankly bad for my mental health situation at my day$job.

Full details under the cut but here’s a link: Support me on Patreon

It’s a lot to get into in a public blog post but I’m really unhappy. I’m simply unhappy with my day job and it’s doing nothing but dragging me down. I feel like there’s a target on my back anyway. Now you might say why not let them just can you and get unemployment? Well I’d rather not have a firing on my record and I don’t want to fight for unemployment because it’s draining. It happened once when my old university job canned my ex-boss then cleaned house of people he brought in.

Something has to give and it can’t be my mental health, again. I’ve had to take FMLA leave because of an abusive work situation before and while the current job isn’t quite veering into abusive territory, it’s not healthy for me here anymore. Between losing my exempt status, being unsupported in what I do while still getting conflicting messages of expectation or other things, I just can’t remain here any longer.

This is on the Patreon page, but realistically if I don’t have about #2200 – $3000 coming in monthly I will be stuck in a job that feels like it’s slowly killing me.

I need to be able to make rent, etc. I outlined this in a recent post on my blog, and I’ve copied some of that below. Ideally I would need at least $2200 – $3000 a month coming in to cover the following

  • Rent $925 a month
  • Bills, including internet, electricity, cooking gas, etc. ($650)
  • Pet costs ($125)
  • Groceries ($350)
  • Transit costs ($100 a month, unlimited rides on CTA)

INDG related Travel & Doing cost of business expenses (which could also be pulled from the INDG Patreon for specific reasons/conventions)

So please, if you can support, even a dollar from each person who follows me on twitter, or two from everyone who follows me on tumblr would help me meet my goal so I can leave this place behind.

Thank you

Published by cypheroftyr

Tanya DePass is the founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a non-profit organization based in Chicago, which is dedicated to better diversification of all aspects of gaming. I Need Diverse Games serves the community by supporting marginalized developers attend the Game Developer Conference by participating in the GDC Scholarship program, helps assist attendance at other industry events, and is seeking partnership with organizations and initiatives. Tanya is a lifelong Chicagoan who loves everything about gaming, #INeedDiverseGames spawn point, and wants to make it better and more inclusive for everyone. She founded and was the EIC of Fresh Out of Tokens podcast where games culture was discussed and viewed through a lense of feminism, intersectionality and diversity. Now she’s a co-host on Spawn on Me Podcast. Along with all of that, she’s the Programming Coordinator for OrcaCon, she often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at multiple conventions throughout the year. Her writing about games and games critique appears in Uncanny Magazine, Polygon, Wiscon Chronicles, Vice Gaming, Paste Games, Mic, and other publications.

One thought on “A plea for enough Patreon support to quit my day job and do the work of #INeedDiverseGames full-time”

  1. Pingback: We all need to support diverse games | NJW Games

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