Hello Everyone, 

Before I get into the nitty-gritty of it I wanted to acknowledge many of you probably know me, but for those who may not, my name is River Christie-White. I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, what is now only just Autism Spectrum Disorder. 

Growing up I was non verbal until I was 8 years old, I have struggled a lot throughout elementary school and high school for being "different", which resulted in me being bullied and othered. Now, I am an Indigenous dancer, musician, and Independent audio engineer who is living in Toronto Ontario while attending Toronto Metropolitan University's Professional Music Program.

I am currently in my 4th-year and if successful, am on track to graduate with about a 4.00 CGPA which will allow me to graduate with distinction. Along with my schooling I run Hoops For Hope, a social enterprise that I started when I was younger to help build brighter futures for those with intellectual disabilities.

I do this by working as an advocate and consultant that works with others to remove barriers those with intellectual disabilities face in schools, workplaces, and the wider community.  This is done through direct consultations, public and private presentations, workshops and more.

While I do this, I rely mainly on my student funding and what family can help with for majority of my financial support as most of the money that Hoops for Hope generates goes back into what we do for the community. This is typically not a problem although I have been faced with hardship lately as there have been a series of unfortunate events that have put me in a difficult situation. 

I last summer had to make a difficult decision, to move from student residence at my university into an apartment with my partner as the rising cost of living in Toronto has made student residence almost 20k. The Southern First Nations Secretariat, the funding body that provides post secondary funding for my nation and a few others, only helps with living expenses up to $10,800, after which you are expected to cover the remainder. 

Previous years this was no problem as I had OSAP grands and a hefty renewable scholarship to assist me in covering things, although this previous year they cut OSAP as OSAP was giving extra funding during the pandemic, which expired at the end of the 2022 year. Beyond that I was also notified that the terms of the renewable scholarship had been changed and that the scholarship would expire before winter semester.

This left me in a situation where I was expected to pay 8k out of pocket for the final two installments. I was fortunate enough to have just enough savings to pay 3k of it, although I was 5k short. I am extremely lucky (and thankful for this) but one of my grandma's were in a position to temporarily loan me the money so I could get out of my contract with the residence and figure out what to do.

That being said I worked extremely hard over the summer to pay my grandma off and while I am happy to say I have been able to pay her off, due to this I am completely relying on the bit of money I can get from working during my busy school schedule, as well as the little bit extra my partner and I get beyond our rent and bills. 

along with this lately I have been having issues with my MacBook, which I heavily rely on for their accessibility features, previously, the secretariat had helped me get a desktop computer for my audio production classes as I needed a high spec system but due to budget they will not cover any other technology for me during my degree.

I am looking for any help I can get, this will be put towards helping with bills, and other costs, along with supplementing the cost of replacing my MacBook. All of this will also help with furthering my academic success as I am in the process of applying to continue my education in TMU's Media Production Masters Degree Program, which will lead me towards my goal of becoming a Audio Production professor.

How's that sound?

- River