CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Fitchett-Mann Funeral Services in Chesapeake said it's been a tough year for both families and businesses like theirs trying to support those families who lost loved ones to COVID-19.
Danielle Fitchett-Mann owns Fitchett-Mann Funeral Services after managing it for a few years. She said they've seen an uptick of 30 to 40% of families needing help for loved ones lost to COVID-19 over the past year.
"The financial side was kind of hard at first because we were a fairly new business," said Fitchett-Mann.
Despite the early-on financial hardships, Fitchett-Mann said she knew others were going through much worse. So, she lowered her prices to make sure those who couldn't afford the funeral costs could get closure by being able to bury or cremate their loved ones.
"The cheapest we do funerals is $2,000 or $3,500, so we just dropped those prices...so people would not be in debt," explained Fitchett-Mann.
A difficult year, Fitchett-Mann and her son Derrick Harris said they struggled financially at first and then mentally. Harris, who is the funeral home's Assistant Manager, explained some of the mental hardships, saying, "You have family members that even on our side passed away that we had to deal with along with working as well. Also, we had to deal with people who didn't have the finances or who really didn't know how to cope with this."
The FEMA Funeral Assistance program offers up to $9,000 per funeral and up to $35,500 in total for the individual applying.
These are some of the listed costs to which the assistance applies:
- Transportation for up to two individuals to identify the deceased individual
- Transfer of remains
- Casket or urn
- Burial plot or cremation niche
- Marker or headstone
- Clergy or officiant services
- Arrangement of the funeral ceremony
- More...
With this financial help, Fitchett Mann said they can potentially help more families in the area. She said she will be notifying her customers of this assistance to make sure they can get the help they need.
To learn if you are eligible and how you can apply, click here.