Funeral assistant programs surge during COVID pandemic

Funerals are expensive, with a complete funeral service averaging $5,000 in Washington state, and the cost doesn’t go down if you lose a loved one to COVID-19.

With COVID vaccine approval days away, Washington gears up to distribute first doses

Since the pandemic started, death care has been affected in two ways: There have been more families unable to pay because of a loss of income, and there’s been more interest in planning ahead.

“When things are shut down and people are more kind of contemplating their mortality and thinking about what they needed to get in order,” said Nora Menkin, executive director of the People’s Memorial Association and the Co-op Funeral Home, explaining the shift in behavior.

The People’s Memorial Association and the Co-op Funeral Home provide education around death care options, and discounts for members. They saw a surge in membership inquiries when the COVID-19 pandemic first started.

Menkin says, unfortunately, finding financial help for a funeral is rare.

“A lot of religious communities are coming together to try and help folks in their communities,” Menkin said. “We, of course, see a whole lot of GoFundMe pages and stuff like that.”

King County has an indigent remains program that provides cremation and a proper burial for individuals who are indigent and who died in the county, but that service is typically for those whose families can’t be located.

Menkin says the best thing to do is to plan ahead, or even shop around, and talk with your family.

“Unfortunately, it’s just a good time to bring up these difficult conversations with your family about what’s important to you,” she said.

Throughout the pandemic, we have heard stories of funeral homes overwhelmed, especially in New York where one funeral home purchased a refrigerated shipping container to store bodies.

Menkin says that is unlikely to happen in Washington state.

“We also have a lot more funeral homes per capita than the New York area does, so we’re a lot better prepared to handle what’s going on than what New York City was at the beginning of all of this,” she explained.

Poll: Puget Sound residents still visiting family despite pandemic warnings

The People’s Memorial Association does have a small fund for non-members who need help with funeral costs, but Menken says it’s not enough to help everyone.