WORCESTER, Mass. -- It's no secret, the cost of death is high, it can be very expensive to say farewell to a loved one, but what happens to the dead who leave us without any way of paying for their final bill?
Boston 25 News report Bob Ward tells us a Worcester Funeral director is trying to bring attention to an issue most of us, would rather not think about.
In life, there is nothing certain as death, but like everything else, death is expensive.
“I’ve been dealing with it for years but it’s gotten much worse,” Peter Stefan said.
Stefan, a funeral home director in Worcester, has been in the business for 50 years, and is known across the state as a funeral director who will accept the earthly remains of people who, even in death, have no one, and no money.
“I’ve never measured respect in terms of dollars and cents. I can always do something,” he said.
But its getting harder to do something. State reimbursement fees for indigent funerals have remained unchanged for decades at $1,100.
Cremation is less expensive, but without approval from the deceased or next of kin, it’s against the law
Right now, the refrigerator chest in the basement of Stefan's funeral home contains three unclaimed bodies that have been here for weeks.
“If nobody shows up in a week or two, how long do we have to hold onto the remains, when does it start bordering on the level of disrespect,” he said.
The Funeral home basement also contains shelves filled with the cremated remains of up to 200 people, some have been here for decades, even as far back as the late 1800s.
Stefan believes, laws have to change to help the dead.
“A lot of funeral homes will help out, and they will also take a loss for it. Most of the funeral directors will help out. But you can’t expect a lot of them to do it,” he said.
Sate Senator Harriette Chandler from Worcester said she plans to file legislation that would allow more money for indigent burials.
Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
