Following Gale’s death, Power Trip released a statement asking that fans donate to Dallas Hope Charities in lieu of sending flowers. That prompted an outpouring of support from the metal community, says the nonprofit’s CEO Evie Scrivner.
— POWER TRIP (@powertriptx) August 26, 2020“We had no idea what that would result in, but the metal, thrasher community is like the most giving, generous, connected — it’s crazy just the people that have come together,” she says.
Gale’s legacy helped fast-track the ability for the charity to purchase a new property, Scrivner says.
“In his living life, he was excited about being a part of that,” she says.
The charity's transitional home, Dallas Hope Center, was first launched in 2018. Its new residence for Dallas LGBTQ youth will accommodate eight people age 18 to 24, Scrivner says, and a private ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Dec. 1.
DHC's relationship with the metal band began in January 2020, and from there, Gale began donating a portion of ticket proceeds to the organization, Scrivner says. The vocalist consistently posted about DHC on social media and invited them to conduct outreach with fans at Power Trip shows, she adds.
In October, DHC announced it would also be naming a library after Gale, Pitchfork reported. Gale’s family will donate many of his books to the library, which will have a dedicated space within the house with oversized chairs, Scrivner says.
“Not everybody heals the same way, so we want to make sure we have every option, and that’s what the Riley Gale Library will help people [with],” she says. “If that’s their outlet, if that is something that brings them calm to their anxiety and lets them have that quiet time and that space, that’ll be there for them.”
Gale was a vocal proponent for social justice efforts, telling the Observer in June that the band had raised around $4,000 for DHC earlier this year.
Power Trip guitarist Blake Ibanez says that Gale was passionate about the charity because of their efforts toward the LGBTQ community.“I definitely think that this is what [Gale] would have wanted. It's a couple of great ways to memorialize him.” – Power Trip guitarist Blake Ibanez
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“I definitely think that this is what he would have wanted,” Ibanez says. “It’s a couple of great ways to memorialize him.”
It was always important to Gale to use his platform to help others, Ibanez adds.
“I think he saw that as a big benefit to who he was, was being able to create things like that,” he says. “Not everybody can just be a part of something — whether it’s a band or whatever — and be able to raise money on a dime for people that need it, those groups of people that need that type of help.”
Audio engineer Daniel Schmuck, who recorded multiple Power Trip efforts, remembers Gale similarly.
“Riley loved using music as a way to create opportunities for helping other people,” Schmuck says. “Anything he did created a ripple effect in the music scene, and he used that influence to support amazing causes like Planned Parenthood and Dallas Hope Charities.”
Giving to charities was always important to Gale, says Power Trip’s former merch guy Hood (né Ryan Williams), who was also the group’s de facto sixth member for more than a decade. Many of the band’s friends identify as LGBTQ, a community that is often overlooked by Power Trip’s peers, Hood adds.
Gale would have been honored that the new center is named after him, Hood says.
“He would love it, God,” Hood says with a laugh. “He was so vain sometimes but yeah, he’d love it.”
The frontman also would have loved to learn that DHC’s library was named after him, Hood adds.
“Riley once said that it’s something as simple as a comic book that could potentially change the world, you know?” Hood says. “Getting books into the hands of the youth was something that was super important to him, so to share that with that community as well is super fucking cool.”
In Dallas County, 43% of LGBTQ youth have been sexually and/or physically assaulted since becoming homeless, according to a DHC news release. Of the United States’ homeless youth population, around 40% identify as LGBTQ.
Many young queer people are rejected by their families and don’t have a place to call home, Scrivner says. To date, she says that the center has provided support and shelter to 14 of the city’s youth.
“DHC has changed my life in ways I can’t even explain … not only from figuring out where my next meal is coming from but actually helping me become a better person and loving my own skin,” says Mary, a DHC resident.
In June, DHC launched the city’s only LGBTQ suicide prevention coalition, Collective Hope Coalition, according to a news release. To learn more about the charity, visit their website dallashopecharities.org.
