VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — An 11-year-old who died while battling cancer in 2024 left such a lasting impression on the Virginia Beach Police Department that the department named a new youth assistance program in his honor.
The program, called LIAM, stands for Local Interventions and Assistance for Minors. Police officials hope families and teens will take advantage of the resources available through the program during summer break.
The initiative is named after Liam Metz, whose parents said their son maintained a positive attitude throughout his cancer battle.
“I can think back when Liam would get out of chemotherapy and he would have an IV on his back, and we’d stop at Mt. Trashmore, and he’d go, ‘Daddy, Mommy, I want to climb that mountain,’” Shawn Metz, Liam’s said…