About Us

At the age of 6, Matthew Mattera lost his father to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. In 2015, he and his wife Erica lost their oldest daughter Elizabeth to suicide the same way. Between those two deaths, Matthew lost a cousin and two uncles to suicide and a brother to self-harm.

Exactly one year after the passing of Elizabeth, Matthew and Erica embarked on a tireless quest focused on turning their heartbreaking tragedy into a testimony of hope and healing for others. Then in 2020, during the global pandemic, they established The Elizabeth Mattera Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to not merely raising awareness but identifying root causes, discovering real solutions, and developing proactive prevention measures to end the suicide epidemic.

Elizabeth was a kindhearted girl who genuinely cared for those around her and whose warm smile and robust sense of humor would light up the room. Her passions were art, reading, or simply spending time with her family – she especially loved to play video games with her little sister and watch movies with her mom and dad.

“We watched our little girl disappear before our eyes; her lighthearted innocence and bright demeanor was slowly overtaken by darkness and despair through dangerous themes and messages; negative information which exploited vulnerabilities, leading to a devastatingly irreversible outcome."  

Matthew & Erica Mattera