Beyond the Pall
New Post Every Wednesday
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact

The High Cost of Death

2/1/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture

The average cost of a funeral in the US is around $9000.  Let that sink in a bit, and that does not include cemetery costs. I am often amazed that we as a society allow this.  Sure there are states that allow families the right to care for their loved one without a funeral director, but not every one.  Just how many citizens know their rights when faced with the death of a loved one?  Few of us really know our rights, and the death care industry can be very intimidating.  When faced with making decisions at the point of death, many of us would rather just get the details handled and get back to grieving with those we love.  What I find so disheartening is that we have allowed an industry to assume the position of authority in one of the most vulnerable and intimate times in our lives. There are other criteria to consider in making death care difficult to acquire.  Let us look at the financial side of things.
 
Perhaps your family does not have to worry about the financial aspect of dealing with death care.  Being financially secure is a wonderful thing, but what about those in our community who have little financial support? What about those who have no one?  The state will step in for those with little or no means.  Some people do not have anyone to claim their bodies in death.  There are those, however, when the cost of burial becomes so high that families are left with the gut wrenching decision to leave the body behind. We need to look at this practice with our hearts and minds and consider how we have allow this to happen.  
 
We need to have a gut check. Do we want a society where only the wealthy can die and have a decent burial?  When did having a funeral become something we needed to “keep up with the Jones’s”?   Why is that we sit by an allow this to continue?  For me death care is a social justice issue. People should be allowed to care for their families in death in a decent manner, and not be in a financial bind to do so.  What can we do?   First, we must know our rights.  We can then take the steps, by reading, researching and speaking out about what goes on in our communities in the death care industry. We could contact our representatives and let them know what we think of the present state of affairs. We can speak openly with our friends and family about what we have learned. Perhaps your faith community could start a death care ministry.  Exposing the industry and the issues families face goes a long way to enacting change.  Perhaps you can find a more creative way to help?  Take a step, no matter how small towards a change that will matter in people's lives at one of the most vulnerable times they face..

#familyrights, #costofdyinginus, #socialjustice
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.



    RSS Feed

    Caroline Vuyadinov


    I graduated from St. Vladamir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York with a Master of Divinity.  I trained as a chaplain following graduation and worked with a wide variety of people. 

    When I moved to Canada, I began work in a women's halfway house in Hamilton, Ontario which worked with women in conflict with the law on a federal level.  I became the program manager and  loved working alongside the women, creating their plans for their reintegration back to the community.  I also worked as a liaison with the parole board, parole officers and other community service providers.

    Upon my return to the United States, I worked in the Death Care Industry as a Family Service Counselor, which lead me to become a green burial advocate. I co-founded Midwest Green Burial Society with Juliann Salinas. I speak  to community groups and have developed practical seminars for a variety of audiences.  I have been interviewed on a national podcast and was featured on a WGN spot dealing with green burial. 

    Archives

    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    Categories

    All
    Children's Graves
    Comunicalbe Disease And Burial Practice
    Cremation
    Cremation Urns
    Cultural Conflicts And Medical World
    Death Of A Child
    Depression
    Ebola
    Family Rights
    Fear Of Death
    Fr-thomas-hopko
    Funeral Laws
    Funeral Planning
    Garden Memorial
    Green Burial
    Grieving Parents
    Heirloom Seeds
    History
    Infant Death
    Live Streaming Funerals
    Mausoleums
    Memorial
    Memorialization
    No Embalming
    Non Religious
    Orthodox
    Orthodox Christian Grave Practices
    Pre Planning
    Pre-planning
    Remembering The Dead
    Serbian Cemetery Rites
    Suicide
    Tree-memorials
    Vaults
    Zito

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly