There is a growing number of families in the New York City area struggling to give their loved one a decent burial. Now, the Catholic Church is hoping to ease their burden with a series of new initiatives. NY1's Thabie Sibanda filed the following report.
John Vincent Scalia has been helping Staten Islanders bury their loved ones since 1963. He also works with the non-profit, Project Hospitality, to help low-income people get the proper burial they deserve.
"We've buried every homeless for them since 1984," Scalia said.
Scalia's funeral home performs an average of 500 funerals a year.
He said he knows very well just how much it can cost a family to pay their last respects. He said in recent years, he's also seen an uptick in cremations.
"To take the body to the crematory, it could cost $250," Scalia said. "To buy a grave...perpetual care, and the opening of the grave could cost $4,500, so there is a big, big difference."
He's not surprised to hear the series of new initiatives by the Archdiocese of New York.
Fewer families are giving their loved ones traditional Catholic burials, because they lack the financial means.
The new initiatives will help low-income families living in New York qualify for a free or low-cost funeral and burial.
"The Hispanic community is how it was born, but it is also open to anyone that, you know, any family with low income," said Freddy Patiño Montoya, a priest.
The initiative includes four of the Archdiocese's cemeteries. On Staten Island, that's Cemetery of the Resurrection in Prince's Bay.
The initiatives will also help parents bury stillborn babies, and give them a space to keep the ashes of a loved one who has been cremated.
"The best way to know about this initiative really is to go to the pastor or the parish, and they will provide families with the right process in order to get the assistance," said Montoya.