Mary Metzger never planned to be an advocate or organizer, but she found herself drawn into those roles because of her drive to help make things better for others who – like her – rely on safety net programs to survive. 

Metzger, 53, lives in Greeley, Colorado with two of her young adult children, but she spends much of her time taking care of her 82-year-old mother who has arthritis and other health issues. Even though the caregiving role is way more than a full-time job, Metzger doesn’t get paid a cent. “I’ve heard there are programs where you can get paid to be a family caregiver, but my mother makes too much money on paper to qualify,” she says, noting that while this amount may exceed program income limits, it’s still barely enough to cover her mother’s expenses.

In addition to being an unpaid caregiver, Metzger, a Community Change Action member, also recently discovered a passion for advocacy. She started attending city council meetings this spring, when the town enacted an outdoor camping and storage ban that seemed intended to target unhoused people. 

“I was so upset about it. They’re basically making it illegal just to exist.” 

The ban unfairly targets the local homeless population, while giving them few other options due to limited local resources. 

Metzger now goes to every city council meeting and says sometimes they don’t even acknowledge her, but she believes in being persistent and takes every possible opportunity to make a case for what she believes city leaders should – and in some cases, legally must – do for their community. 

Getting involved in local issues seems to have ignited a passion for Metzger, who is excited to see other residents also embrace roles as activists and leaders. “The first city council meeting that I went to, there was a lady there who was there for a completely different reason about her business, but she got more involved, and ended up running for mayor. We had all these people that were just community members that decided, ‘Okay, I want to do something,’ she said. 

Metzger canvassed during what was the first year that every city council seat that was up for re-election was contested. She said they ended up with a bigger turnout for a non-presidential race than they’ve had since 2009. 

She has also written op-eds about important issues on the local and state level, including the fact that parts of Colorado have gotten so expensive that many people – including some of her children and grandchildren – have moved away because they can no longer afford to live there. 

Metzger has been employed almost her entire life – “I’ve had a job since I was seven years old,” she says – and has previously worked as a preschool teacher and a nanny. She left her teaching job to care for her father (who has since passed away) and began working in the housekeeping department at a local hospital. During that time, she incurred significant credit card debt while helping cover the cost of her father’s medications and other essentials. That’s when she learned about debt negotiation strategies and became savvy about the laws dictating what creditors can and cannot do to collect a debt. 

Her knowledge of safety net programs also comes from firsthand experience. Metzger receives Section 8 housing assistance, along with SNAP benefits and Medicaid. She tries to find part-time jobs or sporadic gigs she can juggle with her caregiving responsibilities – but says she must then be careful not to exceed income eligibility limits for some of the safety net programs she relies on. There’s often an “eligibility cliff” with these programs, where earning just a few dollars too much can cause participants to lose benefits, even though they still don’t have enough income to cover all their needs. 

“You’re always stressed out about, ‘I need to make money, but I can’t make money. I need Medicaid to go to the doctor, so I can’t make too much money.’ I want to work, but I would need good benefits. And then I would lose my housing.” 

She knows what it feels like to be judged or treated differently because of your financial status, even by healthcare providers. “When you have Medicaid, they don’t treat you the same as other patients. That is really disappointing and upsetting.” 

Over the years, she has learned how to navigate the red tape of government programs and the labyrinthine rules of the health insurance system. She tries to help others navigate these systems and advises people about their rights and obligations as safety net program participants. 

Through all of her outreach and community activities, one of the main messages she tries to emphasize is that everyone matters and one person – and one vote – can make a difference. Although they weren’t able to block actions like the camping ban this time, Metzger said she’s seeing more local residents getting involved in local grassroots movements, and driving higher turnouts than in the recent past for candidates who support working families and progressive causes.  

“You can accomplish a lot just by talking to people. Showing up for the things, doing the hard things, going door to door, having those conversations, being willing to be an active listener. To tell people that they have more power than they think, and that sometimes it’s just five votes that will push it over the edge. I was really proud of my neighbors and my community and all these people that did the hard work, because there are so many people that did the hard work, and they’re not stopping.”