She wept at the tragic loss of her son. And through her tears she shared her fears – ‘how will I pay for the funeral, I’ve only got £300 savings and nothing else, my Disability Benefits won’t cover the cost?’ The Funeral Director wouldn’t arrange the funeral without a deposit. In the end she had to borrow money, and was left hundreds of pounds in debt.
In the midst of personal loss people are facing the stress of paying for a meaningful and dignified funeral, and feel they have few places they can turn to. Funerals are important in our society, it’s how we say good-bye, it’s how we lay our loved one to rest, it’s where words are spoken and feelings are shared about life and what comes after. We have no other process that helps us grieve and share that grief with others. Sadly the costs associated with funerals keep rising; the number of people struggling to pay for a basic funeral is on the increase as is the number of people being forced into debt. But this is not a stand-alone issue, this is part of the bigger picture, of the increasing gap between rich and poor – people are living in poverty because there are unfair structures of pay and benefits in place that lead to such undignified situations as having to borrow to have a funeral carried out. This is unjust. This is unfair. We need to act.
Funeral Poverty has increased by 50% in just 3 years.
In July 2016 I was approached by a retired minster who suggested we bring together key people across Dundee to look at this issue together. The Funeral Poverty Action Group was formed with representatives from the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Scotland, The Episcopal Church, The United Free Church, Dundee Pensioners Forum, and individuals with business experience. We are a group of people who want to explore ways to bring about changes across the city, changes that will ease some of this stress and challenge some of the processes.
We are focussing on 3 areas:
• Push down the cost of funerals
• Encourage people to make preparations for future
• Educating people about quality of funeral v. costs.
How will we push down the cost of funerals? Working alongside other agencies – Dundee City Council, Discovery Credit Union, Dundee Social Enterprise Network and Dundee University - we secured funding to employ Margaret during 2017. For 6 months she looked at the feasibility of an alternative funeral service (social enterprise) where a dignified and meaningful funeral can be arranged but at lower costs. We’re now seeking ways to take forward the findings from this research; we hope to see real changes in Dundee this year.
Alongside the hard stories we also hear inspiring stories – of the local community who crowdfunded to pay for the funeral of a local woman known by many, of the faith community that provided a hall and a funeral tea for the family and friends of a young man who died suddenly and unexpectedly, of the quiet gifts of money given in times of need.
Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. (Isaiah 1:17 – 17) This is our calling, as God’s people, to care for each other and those who are fragile and forgotten.
If you want to find out more about Funeral Poverty, head along to the Fair Funeral Campaign - http://fairfuneralscampaign.org.uk/ The Fair Funerals campaign is run by anti-poverty charity Quaker Social Action, and through this we can join them to campaign the UK Government to increase the state funeral fund to a reasonable amount; contact local funeral directors and ask them to sign the Fair Funeral Pledge (pledging to help people find a funeral within their financial means and to be open about their costs); find good advice about organising a funeral. We have a voice, it’s time to speak up.