After years of homelessness and losing everything in a fire, my dogs and I are fighting to protect the home my grandfather built.
Story:
My name is Alicia. For the past three years, my two dogs, Doc and Harvey, and I have been surviving however we can.
In February 2023, my home burned to the ground—destroyed by someone who wanted to destroy me. Through it all, Doc and Harvey never left my side. When shelters told me I could only stay if I gave them up, I chose to stay with them. They are my family, and I could never leave them behind.
Two days later, I showed up at my grandfather’s house looking for shelter. That’s when I discovered something that would change everything.
My grandfather came back from World War II, where he was stationed in Louisiana. That’s where he met my grandmother—a six-foot-tall southern belle who came from a cotton farm where her family was forced to work picking cotton because of debt. He was only five feet tall. They were the oddest couple you’d ever see, but they loved each other fiercely. After they came home together, he bought land three blocks away from the family homestead in 1951. For seven years, he built a house on the homestead with his own hands. Then on moving day in 1958, hundreds of Mancini family members, friends, and neighbors showed up. They put wheels on the house and pushed it three blocks down to the land my grandfather had purchased. The entire community came together to help this unlikely couple start their new life. That house wasn’t just built. It was pushed into place by the people who loved them.
That house was meant to stay in our family and eventually pass down to me. After my father passed in 2012, we honored his wishes and allowed my stepmother to live there for the rest of her life. She passed away in October 2025, but I was never notified. When I finally discovered what had happened and went to probate court, I found documents I was legally entitled to receive—documents I had never been sent. By then, legal actions had already transferred ownership of the house out of the family.
I’ve been told there may still be a chance to reopen the probate cases because of potential irregularities, but I cannot do it without legal help.
Why I Need Help
Funds raised will go toward:
• Hiring a probate attorney to review the estate and property filings
• Investigating whether improper or fraudulent actions occurred
• Basic stability for Doc, Harvey, and myself while this legal battle takes place
The five thousand dollar retainer fee is what stands between me and getting an attorney before it’s too late.
Our Hope
Doc, Harvey, and I are survivors of abuse, fire, homelessness, and losing nearly everything along the way. But we’re still here. We’re still fighting. And we’re still finding reasons to laugh.
I write funny, comical stories about my dogs on Ko-fi—imagining the ridiculous things they’re probably thinking. It keeps me going and reminds me that even in the darkest moments, there’s still joy to be found.
My grandfather’s home is the last piece of stability left for us—the only place where we might finally start over and keep being ourselves.
If you can donate, even a small amount helps us get the legal help we urgently need. If you can’t donate, sharing our story could make all the difference.
You can also support us through:
Doc & Harvey’s Gift List:
Thank you for reading.
With gratitude,
Alicia, Doc, and Harvey
Organizer
