Table of Contents
Burial support
Early on, Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency (Wayne Metro) began receiving requests for assistance with the cost of burial or cremation, often for loved ones they never expected to be saying goodbye to in 2020. As with many agencies, Wayne Metro had not typically offered funeral support, but as the death toll for COVID rose in Wayne County along with unemployment, the agency elevated it to a priority.
Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency also had not provided burial assistance, but requests began coming in.
“Even in normal times, burial is not affordable for many,” says the agency’s executive director Susan Harding. “But in this situation, and when multiple members of a family died, we were able to provide the funds to make burial possible.”