I'm a lurker to this, and a person with a longtime interest in the legitimate aspects of the field, however minute it is these days. I just wanted to comment on a few things, as I listened to The Paracast off and on for a while, but won't any longer. From reading the back and forth through the various blogs, forums, and social media there's a few things that need to be said. I don't want to see anyone go homeless or broke, but you have to own up to your own actions and make amends to decide to go forward. I'm sure he's lurking, so here is something better than a solicitation of money - advice to get out of this mess:
1 - First should be apologizing to others, to his two former co-hosts who left the show, and those who he's solicited donation or borrowed money from. Not to mention the history of court judgements in the double digits that he's apparently been connected to. Denial and externalizing everything on a million different things does nothing. TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THE SITUATION. Everyone has a bad beat, but for this to go on 12+ years now, it's time to look in the mirror and get a grip for your own salvation.
2 - There are people willing to help, but it's completely unreasonable to be completely non-transparent about your finances and also ask for money. I will tell you, if I am ever in the situation where I have to rely on the support of strangers, I'm keeping every receipt, I'm counting every penny, and watching every single thing I do and living on a skeleton budget.
I don't mind someone who is LEGITIMATELY trying their hardest to avoid costs and work their butt off. If someone said 'hey I'm in a bad spot, this is my revenue, these are my expenses, what do I do?' But how forthcoming has he been? How often has his weekly expenses been shown? His former co-host said he eats out every week, and previously leased a vehicle. I mean, seriously? How much is spent on food, vehicle, rent, etc every month? I read from a court posting that his eviction costs were four digits. Four digits for rent? How can someone POSSIBLY justify donations for someone this isn't willing to cut his own costs. Lets start with this:
phoenix apts/housing for rent "mesa" - craigslist
Craigslist search, apartments in Arizona, with a max rent of $700. If you have to cram into a studio or small 1br, then so be it. If you have to take the dog to the kennel or give him away, so be it. If you have to drive a clunker 90s vehicle, so be it. I used to drive a 91 Oldsmobile with a blown head gasket that damn near killed me to get by at one point. I used to donate plasma for $60 bucks a week. If you have to live on ramen noodles and spaghetti for a year, so be it. THESE are the steps you take to turn things around. Relentlessness and grinding. Not going eviction to eviction refusing to lower your standard of living off of the backs of others.
3 - Finally, it's 2018. It's completely unreasonable to expect with thousands of podcasts out there, to make any sort of living off of a podcast to a niche group of people. Honestly, Gene has been extremely fortunate to be able to start one years earlier before this became a boom industry and get anything out of it. Most people do this as a HOBBY and do it just as well as you do, and get paid nothing. Uber and Lyft are not meaningful jobs, they're also hobby positions for people to earn a little extra income. I do not know how podcasting and ride sharing is supposed to be considered a meaningful source of income.
If I were in that position, I would swallow my pride and do anything to get out of it. Start with this:
Supercenter 03833 - Hourly Positions
Right there is a Wal-Mart position near the area, become a greeter. Their minimum wage is at least $11 an hour, and near the West Coast I'm guessing maybe more. I see people upwards of their age in the 80s working locally. Even on a conservative 30 hour workweek at $11 an hour, that's $1320 a month - and almost all of that money would be exempt from any garnishments or taxes, and would qualify for an Earned Income Tax Credit at the end of the year, as well as be proof of revenue for food stamps. That's not even counting keeping the podcast going and revenue from that, and doing what you can with ride sharing at other times.
Start with that, email and call ten places from Craigslist with $700 and under rent, show me your grocery cost for the week, and a couple of applications to Wal-Mart, Target, or wherever and I will throw in my own money to help you out. You can't expect to rely on the generosity of others while not being willing to help yourself and be transparent about your costs.
What I've just explained is a completely and totally reasonable solution to your problem. I didn't say easy, but it's a solution, and you would probably garner more sympathy showing a willingness to be transparent, cut expenses, and go to a place of employment on a payroll for people to help you in the future.
