Mass graves increases in the U.S.; Relatives can't afford the funerals.

[SuXrys]

Poor graves increases in the U.S. The dead are stacked on each other. The morgue in Cook County outside Chicago is too full. Poor Americans can not afford to pay for the funeral, which means that the number of mass graves is increasing in the United States.

Morgue in Cook County outside Chicago, USA, has room for 300 deceased. Last week, local media reported that the morgue was cluttered, the dead are piled on each other. The reason that the morgue is full, is because the laws regarding funerals has changed in the state of Illinois. One example is that infants who died at birth or miscarriage are now to be buried in separate coffins, which was not needed to be the case before.

- We havn't been able to bury infant or fetus'es, as we wait for the specially-designed coffins to be designed and built, says coroner Nancy Jones of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Last summer the state strangeled the grant that would cover funeral costs for those who can't afford it. As from the start of this year, the contribution has returned, but during the recess funeral agencies stopped taking deceased whose relatives couldn't pay for themselves. The Chicago Tribune says that this made the morgues to start becoming so full. Morgues should also find out if the deceased had any tucked away assets and inquire if the deceased is a veteran in need of a military funeral ceremony. If none of the above happens [relatives can't pay - the dead didn't had any tucked away assets, or if the deceased wasn't an veteran], they (the deceased) ends up in so-called poor graves where the dead are buried in simple wooden boxes in a common grave, piled on eachother.

On Wednesday, AFP witnessed how 30 people were buried in one grave at Homewood Memorial Gardens in Illinois. According to the news agency, the new tough economic situation contribute to that the number of poor graves increases.



[I used Google translate to translate the article above, so it can sound "weird", but I tried to correct the text
to sound better as much as I could (but it isn't that easy you know)... So try to overview the bad english. Oki dokki? ^^]


Watch the slideshow and the article.
http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article14247417.ab
[text in swedish, but you can understand by watching the pictures in the slideshow anyway]


----------------------
Thoughts on the situation?

[blueangel06661]

I'm 19 and I paid/planned for my fathers funeral by myself with the help of my fathers insurance policys. It's their fault for not having insurance I take it.

Buy yourself life insurance and it helps your family out when you die. Don't by yourself life insurance and leave your family to pay for everything out of pocket. I'm not very sympathetic. That's about $11,000-$18,000 you leave them to try to scramble and pay. Not to mention they have to get a lawyer to open and close the estate and what not. Lawyers are expensive as well.

Though insurance doesn't cover suicide. I know this because of a classmate my Senior year. But the community came together to help the family and a church also provided their services. But otherwise no insurance = a big mess later.

[Senel Coolidge]

Not much thoughts on the situation, I just think you're right. There should be more poor graves. A lot of laws are being unfair. also some insurance companies are quite helpful.

I just thought it was more cheaper and simple to have the family member cremated and bury their ashes with their deceased family members.

[SuXrys]

I just thought it was more cheaper and simple to have the family member cremated and bury their ashes with their deceased family members.

Here you can read some about the costs http://www.ehow.com/about_5399806_co...vs-burial.html

[marvelangga]

Is incineration more expensive? And isn't funeral just a burial ceremony? @.@?

[blueangel06661]

Is incineration more expensive? And isn't funeral just a burial ceremony? @.@?

Well you have to buy the plot, buy the tombstone, buy the casket, choose if you want to have a viewing service, so you have to rent the building, and also you have to rent the building you choose to have the service in before you drive out to bury the person, you have to pay the diggers to dig the hole and cover it up.

It cost a lot of money to bury a person. I think when I did my fathers it was about 14,000 I think.. If my memory serves me right...

[SuXrys]

@blueangel06661
How much does a life insurance in U.S costs, and do they 'include' everything? Im sorry if I sound dumb, but I don't know anything about this.

[blueangel06661]

@blueangel06661
How much does a life insurance in U.S costs, and do they 'include' everything? Im sorry if I sound dumb, but I don't know anything about this.

I don't know how much it cost. It depends on how many you get etc. I know I got about a $20,000 policy back for my dad and there also was a 30-40,000 policy that was given to my uncle since he was the POD on it. I think you just pay a certain amount a month or year or something.. I'm not too sure.. I'm still only 19 so I haven't bought any yet xD

So if you do it right, your gets a decent sum back.

I don't know what it "includes" You get the money and can use it anyway you desire, though it's mostly used to cover funeral arrangements. And it doesn't include any of that. You go to the funeral home and they work with the insurance companies to be sure they'll be paid with that money and they have their own packages to purchase.... and you get whatever is left over after that [that's if you go in that direction. ]

[Anoleis]

How death is handled here is utterly stupid. I realize that it has a lot to do with religious things, but, still, spending $10,000 on a dead person? That's not even mentioning how bad the embalming the body is for the environment. Just buy an urn and use your deceased for fertilizer or decoration. I'm going to giver my dad his wish; he's going to grow corn!

[battousai_ryuu]

Being from Chicago I've seen this in the News. Reminds of the scandal that was going on at the Burr Oaks cemetary when they ran out of room they told no one and stacked the graves without anyones knowing. Even worse yet, many relatives of the deceased have no information about the burail location of their loved ones.

I agree that the life insurance is a wise decision, expecially for those who can afford it. My only issue with burial vs cremation is the possibility of running out of room. As each grave needs to be respected and have it's own unless you have one of those family masoleaums. With our current populations somewhere above 300 million~ If everyone had a grave measuring the average 4'x7' when they passed it come come to be 301 miles squared (without the roads and whatnot found in a cemetary)

I am a fan of Japans way of paying repects to the dead. With a population of about 126 million (about half of the US) and limited to an island about the same size of california there is no way they could have the burial grave system that we have. I am one that wants to be taken care of via cremation.

I find that we worry to much about how are remains will be "taken care of" and to little about the life we've led.
What's important is remembering the life of that loved one who passed. Not how they were buried.

A picture I took while in Nagasaki of Japanese family grave memorials.

[marvel_phoenix]

I've with my preoccupation with fire, I decided long ago that I want to be cremated. It only validated my decision when I took a Death and Dying class in college. We watched a video of the embalming process, and I know the people under going the procedure are dead (or at least should be :X) but I don't want to have that done to me. (They use what look like liposuction wands/hoses to puncture all the organs and such to properly drain the fluids...) And yes, those aluminum caskets are horribly expensive. I think my grandma's expenses were somewhere around 20K US, and that was 2 years ago. If you look on the internet, you can buy simple wooden coffins/caskets, and even find instructions to make your own!!

Another big thing about how we take care of the dead here in the states (and a growing part of the world) is that we tend to keep it quiet/down-play it way too much. It used to be that when a person passed on, friends and family would hold a wake, sometimes going over several days. And I mean all the family. Little kids, too. Now a-days we sugarcoat and dilute those particular facts of life, and go to great lengths to distance children from it.

Also, this going to sound weird, but I think we need to go back photographing the deceased before they are buried. I don't know why, but that appeals to me. *shrug* Even all those old-timey pics of the little kids and babies where they look like they are sleeping. I suppose it's the aspect of closure that they provide that appeals to me.

[Meenah]

I've heard of this kind of problem. I just think it's a complete drag you know? It's a hassle especially when the person pass away doesn't leave you anything to help out so the life insurance comes in handy. I think it's a gamble because what if you'll be healthy and the time expires, and say, next day you die.. well, there's nothing. Now I wonder why does death have to be so expensive, and to my thinking it's all about money. :/ It doesn't hurt to go "what if" all the time, you're just thinking ahead and even reading this topic, I want to have life insurance, be cremated, and etc. Seems like cremation is cheaper that way.

[SuXrys]

Also, this going to sound weird, but I think we need to go back photographing the deceased before they are buried. I don't know why, but that appeals to me. *shrug* Even all those old-timey pics of the little kids and babies where they look like they are sleeping. I suppose it's the aspect of closure that they provide that appeals to me.

You mean like the pictures that was common during the 19th century?

[marvel_phoenix]

You mean like the pictures that was common during the 19th century?

Yep. My grandmother-in-law has one of her first child. They're sad little pictures, but I kinda like them.

[SuXrys]

Yep. My grandmother-in-law has one of her first child. They're sad little pictures, but I kinda like them.

It is still fairly common that parents takes photos of their dead children, especially the ones that died at a really young age (newborns exc). But I don't really see the purpose myself why we should start to take alot of pictures of people that have died during 'normal circumstances' - since they often are apprearing on alot of photos / videos as alive anyway. But I get your fascination - death captures you in a way. Still, maybe this is little off topic? :P

[Meenah]

Yep. My grandmother-in-law has one of her first child. They're sad little pictures, but I kinda like them.

It's interesting to say that you like them. I find them kind of haunting and a little taboo in my eyes, I think it's only because it's a bit creepy. x_x And then I feel a little sad.

[marvel_phoenix]

It is still fairly common that parents takes photos of their dead children, especially the ones that died at a really young age (newborns exc). But I don't really see the purpose myself why we should start to take alot of pictures of people that have died during 'normal circumstances' - since they often are apprearing on alot of photos / videos as alive anyway. But I get your fascination - death captures you in a way. Still, maybe this is little off topic? :P

You're right, it's a bit off topic.

It just burns me that people are losing respect for the dead, whether there are actual remains involved or not. Even memorials left at cemeteries aren't safe. They are either stolen, or confiscated after a time by the maintenance people, or busted up by people that need a good breaking of their own... It's just the mass graves, the run of unmarked ones, even the improperly interred, are only what we pay attention to.

There was a crematorium & funeral home down around Georgia or Alabama a few years ago that got shut down because not only were they not cremating remains properly, if at all, they were taking money for services undelivered, and even stealing the jewelry and gold fillings from the dead! I think it only came to light because one of the Insurance companies thought they were being cheated or over-paying or whatever.

[SuXrys]

It just burns me that people are losing respect for the dead, whether there are actual remains involved or not. Even memorials left at cemeteries aren't safe. They are either stolen, or confiscated after a time by the maintenance people, or busted up by people that need a good breaking of their own... It's just the mass graves, the run of unmarked ones, even the improperly interred, are only what we pay attention to.

I live next to an cementary myself so I know what you are talking about. It's just said.

It's so... "non-respectfull" [not sure what english word should be used here, but I think you'll get the point]. Since I live so close to a cementary (and a few blocks away is the biggest one is our town; so I am kind of "surrounded" by them) I have heard quite alot of times of things that have been stolen, mostly flowers and such. Everytime I hear something like that I just shake my head and sighns inside, I don't get how some people are thinking. Even if you can't afford flowers yourself or whatever yada yada is the issue/case... stealing from graves are just so low...

[Saeriel]

The word would be disrespectful.

Also, stealing from the dead is terrible. Even if I don't care about the dead themselves, or any of that stuff, or see the point of leaving items for them, you're disrespecting the memory of and the grief of the living who left it.