Catholic Charities’ fund helps cover funeral expenses for those in need

It was in 2020, near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when an anonymous donor gave $2 million to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago to help people who could not afford to pay for funeral, burial or cremation services for their loved ones.

Four years later, Catholic Charities has provided $5.9 million to nearly 2,000 families, according to Ashley Styx, senior program director for Catholic Charities’ Resource Hub. The burial fund still relies entirely on private donations.

Families who have received help include everyone from the newly single parent, who was facing the choice of paying rent or paying a funeral home to cremate the remains of her deceased partner, to an 85-year-old man who could not afford to pay for a funeral for his wife of more than 50 years.

The widower was so grateful for the help from Catholic Charities that he baked a loaf of bread and brought it to the staff, said Nelly Guzman, director of case management for Catholic Charities Resource Hub.

“Sometimes people in that situation don’t have a lot of people to talk to,” Guzman said. “For that gentleman, we were able to do that.”

“The need that we see in the community for this is just astronomical,” Styx said, noting that there are few programs to help pay for funeral or burial costs. Programs that do exist usually are only for people who died from violence, not those who died from natural causes or accidents. “We aren’t able to meet the need that is out there.”

Catholic Charities now receives 200 to 300 calls a month about help paying for burials; at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it received about 600 calls a month. But Catholic Charities has the money to help only 17 to 20 families each month.

Families receive $5,000, which is usually enough for a very basic burial or cremation service.

“For a lot of families, it’s a very unexpected expense,” Styx said

Families who call the Resource Hub, the call center that acts as a “front door” for people seeking services or other help, first get screened for financial eligibility;  to qualify, a family of four would need to have an income of less than about $33,000 a year. Then they are connected to a case manager, who has them fill out a one-page application.

From the first call to talking to a case manager should take less than three days, Styx said, and case managers will communicate with funeral directors to let them know that the money is on the way.

At the same time, case managers will work with families to find out if they need other services, such as grief counseling, which is provided through Catholic Charities’ behavioral health program.

That’s something Resource Hub case managers do for every client, Styx said, whether they are calling to ask about the burial fund or something else.

“They are coming to us in a state of crisis, most likely about something that they cannot provide for their families themselves,” she said. “But that’s usually not the only thing that family is going through. So our case managers listen with empathy and try to build that relationship.”

While the burial fund has existed for a few years, it’s not as well known as some of Catholic Charities other resources. Styx said most people hear about it through word of mouth, especially among funeral directors.

To donate or to seek help from Catholic Charities, call 312-655-7000 or visit catholiccharities.net.