Support for a Family devastated from Suicide

I am humbly asking our friends, family and community to help my father, Raymond Schwartz, and my youngest brother, Gregory Schwartz, out of a devastating financial crisis. 

On June 26th, 2020, Ray’s wife/Greg’s mother, Pam Schwartz, lost her battle with mental illness that she lived with in silence. Pam was a kind, sweet, amazing woman. She was an adoring mother, a loving wife, a devoted daughter, a dedicated worker, and always smiling. She was always on time and consistent and ran all things home. Pam and Ray both worked hard to get by each month. Pam would take care of the finances as my father works crazy hours. With her absence, besides the massive emotional hole left,  there is a massive financial hole in their living situation as well.

Depression hurts, and it can creep in the background while people close to you don't see it. Pam was always so concerned with making sure everyone else was happy, that she didn't take time to keep herself truly happy. And with the world being as bleak as it is right now, as well as s dealing with the grief of losing her own mother Florence during a time where very little of her family could be there to comfort her due to travel and social distancing restrictions, it was simply just too much.

My father is turning 70 years old in the coming weeks. He still works full time for the same delivery service Pam worked for as the office manager. For years already, my father was left in a financial mess from a divorce from an abusive spouse, my mother, over 20 years ago. He gave up his home, pension and everything he had worked for and signed it over including agreeing to alimony and a hefty child support payment just to keep the peace for his children and to move on with his life. He sacrificed so much for us, his kids. My father is a great one and I am lucky to have him. We are now adults and while my mother is still taking from his pension, he was relieved of his other monetary obligations to her. He was just beginning to recover financially from this recently or so it seemed. 

As many of you know, my brother, Adam Schwartz, passed away a few years ago from an overdose. My dad was crushed as we all were and could not even take a decent enough time from work to process it all. Pam, in trying to alleviate some of the stress, took over the primary financial responsibilities of the family. As an on demand delivery driver, my dad's paychecks can change week to week, and works in an industry that can provide uncertainty about the amount of the paycheck you receive, and with the economy plummeting thanks to COVID-19, many potential deliveries he would normally be making are still on hold. To put it simply, without Pam, they can't afford to continue their lifestyle.

On top of this, the Pandemic has halted all of Greg’s career plans for 2020. Greg is just out of college and now at a time with unprecedented unemployment rates, getting a job quickly that pays well is nearly impossible, and besides this right now he’s in no emotional state to start job hunting. No one should have to lose anyone, especially their mother, to suicide. And now potentially lose everything that is familiar and comfortable.

The pain of losing a wife and mother to suicide while still grieving your son and brother is unimaginable, but finding out you will be forced to leave your home due to such an economic strife while grieving is too much to bear. While moving is inevitable due to the financial circumstances (and likely good for both of them in the long run emotionally), taking time to grieve in the home of someone you loved is important. None of this is helped by occurring during a global pandemic, where people and businesses are struggling as it is.

Ray doesn’t ask for help. It’s against his nature. Greg wasn’t raised that way either, So if there’s ever a time to reach out and help them, it’s now. The goal is to help raise $15,000 for my Dad and Greg, to give them some relief and time to grieve. This money will be used to help compensate for the loss of Pam's income, fill the gap on the monthly rent, as well as other miscellaneous bills. After all they have suffered this would allow them to continue to live at their home until the end of the year, giving them enough time to figure things out and truly grieve.

I don’t like asking for help either, but they deserve reprieve. They have both lost too much already. Thank you for your time and your help.