About a week ago, I was walking home from C-Town on Graham when I first ran into Alice coming back from urgent care. She'd been in pain and gone looking for help, but the place was closed. We walked for a bit and stopped at a bench together. Sitting there, she told me she needed help. That's the conversation that started this.

WHAT'S GOING ON

Alice's health has been declining. She's been having trouble with speech and moments of confusion; she carries a note explaining this in case she needs to show it to someone. Getting to doctor's appointments and keeping track of what they tell her isn't something she can do on her own anymore.

Her family is working to get longer-term support in place through Medicaid and a home care agency, but that process can take weeks, sometimes months. In the meantime, with the grace of God, we found someone to help Alice five hours a day, Monday through Friday. We're raising money to cover her through the rest of April and May, about six weeks, while the longer-term plan comes together. We're also replacing her mattress, which has given out and is making sleep and rest harder.

Without these donations, Alice can't keep the person who's helping her right now, and she'd be on her own until Medicaid comes through.

WHO ALICE IS

If you've been around Williamsburg long enough, you probably already know Alice. She's lived here her whole life, 62 years. Sitting outside Uncle Lui G's with Sweet Pea in the afternoon. Catching up with the staff at Muz Muz. At Sage, where they know where she sits and what she orders before she asks. And that's just a few of the places; Alice has friends all over this neighborhood.

Alice brings people lunch. She gives hugs. She stops to say hi to every dog she passes.

A lot of people have known her for years, as a neighbor, as a friend, without realizing how many parts of our lives she quietly shows up in.

Then there's Sweet Pea. Sweet Pea was rescued from a hoarding house; he'd been through a lot before he found Alice. The two of them have been inseparable ever since. If you know Alice, you know Sweet Pea is right there with her in his carriage.

SWEET PEA TOO

Sweet Pea needs pet insurance in case something comes up that can't be covered out of pocket, plus a savings fund for the rest of his care. We're budgeting for two years because we don't know what the road ahead looks like for Alice, and we want Sweet Pea taken care of no matter what. He found his person once. We want to make sure he's looked after.

WHERE THE MONEY GOES

$5,000 — PCA care. Pays for Alice's care assistant (5 hours a day, Monday–Friday, $22/hr) for the 6+ weeks while her Medicaid and home care agency paperwork processes.

$1,438 — Sweet Pea's insurance. Two years of monthly premiums ($59.92/mo) so Sweet Pea stays covered no matter what happens.

$3,000 — Sweet Pea's vet care savings. Deductibles, vet visits, and anything insurance won't cover over the next two years.

$1,000 — A new mattress for Alice. Her current one has given out and isn't supporting her. Any surplus goes to Sweet Pea's savings.

Total: $10,438

If Medicaid comes through faster than expected, or if the agency doesn't cover everything, anything left over will stay as an emergency fund for Alice's care, or go toward Sweet Pea's savings.

HOW TO HELP

Donate if you can. Share it if you can't, or do both. Post it to your Instagram, your building group chat, your neighborhood page. If you're a regular at Uncle Lui G's, Saldo's, Sage, Muz Muz, or Tony's, let them know this is out there. They'll want to know.

Alice has been showing up for this neighborhood for 62 years. Sweet Pea has been showing up for Alice every day since he was rescued. We're just returning the favor.

— Alice's neighbors and friends