A Giving Tuesday Ask to Help Pay for a Roving Reporter Photographer who was recently Unhoused
Highlights of our recent reporting plus bonus content.
Would you consider a Giving Tuesday contribution to the Our Town Reno / BiggestLittleStreets endeavor?
As we go independent, it’s not easy to ask for money but there are a few projects which we hope the community could help with as we pursue our mutual aid hyperlocal news collective operation.
Contributions can be made via the ourtownreno Venmo, via the subscribe button on the Our Town Reno Facebook or via credit card at https://ourtownreno.substack.com/ with the upgrade to paid button at whichever amount you see fit.
One of the asks we are presenting for this Giving Tuesday is to see if some of you would be willing to chip in to help pay our volunteer roving photographer and reporter Dani DeRosa, in photos here, with a monthly stipend.
“I am from Sparks, NV and have been writing and creating since childhood,” Dani writes in way of self-presentation. “I started a handmade jewelry business at 14, written a novel and dozens of short stories in addition to stories for local online periodicals. Stuck in-between functioning and disabled, I am passionate about human rights advocacy for marginalized people.”
Dani first wrote a citizen’s forum oped for us about harrowing experiences at the county jail after recently becoming unhoused.
“I did not have to survive by drinking from a jail toilet this time. A month I’d been in that hole last time getting attacked, brought in for “trespassing” at a bus stop and yelling at cops for getting in my space when I was trying to go home. I’d just wanted to find my friend who was visiting from out of town.
Between the two jail visits I was hallucinating from heat stroke in a shed where I tried to build a temporary shelter.
Sick, prone to dizzy spells, unable to find water, delirious. Becoming homeless can happen to anyone. You may be so lucky to survive it.
I find myself now on a perch, what I’ve been calling temporary respites. A week in a hotel room. Gouging into my precious savings. But surviving above desperation and therefore priceless.”
Dani has been doing better since writing those passages for Our Town Reno, finding some work, new friends and housing. During this time, through kindness and concern for the community, Dani has contributed photos and write-ups for us to reshare on our feeds.
With your help, we’d love for us to be able to offer Dani a stipend every month for continuing to do so.
The easiest way if you have Venmo is through the ourtownreno Venmo. The Our Town Reno Facebook also has a subscribe button where you can pay three dollars a month. The Our Town Reno Substack at https://ourtownreno.substack.com/ has a paying option, where you can contribute any amount you’d like with a credit card.
Thank you for your support as we chart a new course of independence in our journey of hyperlocal mutual aid journalism, providing an expansive platform to those struggling in our community and to those helping them.
Our Recent Reporting Highlights
New State Law and Local Ordinance Might Translate into Downtown Restriction for Sidewalk Vendors
An Ode to Skateboarders and their Beloved Believe Plaza
Dentist and His Assistants Provide At School Services in Reno to Help Underserved Kids
WCSD Superintendent Susan Enfield Abruptly Resigns
