Family in Desperate Need

Hello, my name is Elizabeth Metzger. My older brother, Phillip Metzger, 39, died suddenly on March 19th, 2022, leaving behind his wife, Stephanie, and two young children, Reagan (12) and Rocco (11). Stephanie is a stay-at-home mother working towards her nursing degree, Reagan is an avid lover of makeup and movies, and Rocco loves building kits and video games.

All three of them will lose their health insurance on April 1st. COBRA is available to pick up their health insurance coverage. However, it is costly. While the children are eligible for monthly survivor's benefits through Social Security, Stephanie is not. Stephanie has an appointment with Social Security regarding signing up for resources, but it is not until mid-May. In addition, both Reagan and Rocco have daily medication they must take, and all three of them must go to family grief counseling to help them work through this trying time. On top of all that, their landlord has voiced an unwillingness to work with them on the rent and is requiring them to pay their full rent, despite the quickly oncoming money issues.

Steph will receive one year of his pay of life insurance through his work, which would be able to keep them afloat for a time. However, the money cannot be given until his death certificate is completed. Because of the suddenness of his death and the need for a complete autopsy, that will not happen for up to three months.

The 25k goal for this fundraiser is a rough estimate of what my sister-in-law and her children would need to get them through the next four months; this includes rent, electricity, food, gas, and health needs. My family and I have been able to pool together resources to help them afford their rent for April, and they do have one more check coming from Phil's work for his last billable days, but after that, there will be nothing for an unknown amount of time.

Please donate what you can, and if you cannot donate yourself, please share this with others.

Thanks so much for any consideration given to our request.