Silver Lining Project
Healing the Financial Scar of Veteran Suicide
MISSION: LIMIT THE FINANCIAL DAMAGE
Our Veteran families can’t afford the funerals that come with a soldier suicide or a veteran suicide. We provide crisis financial funding to those American families in need. We network with other Veteran family charities and get direct requests for help.
Bio Hazard companies, funeral homes and airlines don’t always have your best interests in mind. Your state of mind isn’t best suited to deal with these vendors either. We can enable your wishes, price match and ask for discounts and benefits that you may not have the energy to fight for. Call (202) 350-0537
Help Starts Here
To request crisis financial funding related to a Veteran suicide, please fill out the contact form. We will require copies – which can be photos – of the Veteran’s DD-214 and the death certificate. As they are sometimes delayed, you do not need to provide that to request help.
Call Us To Help Negotiate Rates and Services For These Time of Need Providers
Transporting the Remains
If a Veteran needs to be flown to his final resting place, the costs mount up quickly.
The cost of shipping a body is based on the weight of the shipment and the distance from the place of origin to the destination. In addition, you will have to pay for the cost of the shipping container, as well as any fees to the funeral home(s) for the coordination of the shipping.
The fee for forwarding remains to another funeral home ranges from $400.00 to $3000.00. The fee for receiving remains from another funeral home usually ranges from $800.00 to $2500.00. You will likely have to pay both of these fees, in addition to any other funeral home fees.
Bio Hazard Clean-Up
After a Veteran suicide, the survivors must not only deal with the shock of a sudden death, but with the sad fact that the remains must go ASAP. Get more info here. That’s the job of the Coroner’s office who is called to the scene by the police or EMTs. They’re usually the first call. The next call should be to a bio-hazard clean-up and then your homeowners insurance agent. Here’s a list of other calls to make.
Funeral Homes
If cremation is an option, we recommend asking for “a direct cremation all included.” This will be most affordable option. Read more about that here.
Relying on the VA to pay the costs is not a good strategy. Benefits are limited to $2,000 and take months to arrive. A plot, a marker and a service is all you can expect.
Burying your loved one is never easy, but funeral home practices and the growing monopoly of services offered is a real issue for our families. Our goal it to not leave the families with a financial scar as well as a emotional one.
Sample Funeral Bill
| Item | Price Range | Notes |
| Basic Services of Funeral Director and Staff | $1000-$2500 | This expense is non-declinable, but price may vary based on whether you’re having a burial or cremation versus a direct burial or direct cremation |
| Embalming | $400-$700 | Never legally required, though may be required with the purchase of other services |
| Other preparations of the body | $200-$400 | Includes makeup, hairdressing, putting the body in the casket, and is an add-on to embalming; cost may be higher if an autopsy has been performed |
Facilities, equipment, and staff:
| Item | Price Range | Notes |
| Use of funeral home facilities and staff for viewing at funeral home | $250-$500 | May implicitly include embalming and other preparations of the body |
| Use of funeral home staff for viewing at another location | $250-$400 | Embalming may not be required |
| Use of funeral home facilities and staff for funeral or memorial service at funeral home | $350-$700 | Cost is may be higher than holding the funeral elsewhere because you’re paying for the funeral home chapel |
| Use of funeral home staff for funeral or memorial service at another location | $300-$500 | |
| Use of funeral home staff for graveside service at the cemetery | $250-$400 | May implicitly include fees for setting up the gravesite for the service |
Transportation:
| Item | Price Range | Notes |
| Transfer of the person who died from place of death to funeral home | $200-$400 | If you’ll be having a funeral with the body present, this is usually unavoidable |
| Transportation of the body to the cemetery or crematory from funeral service site | $250-$350 | If you’ll be having a burial after a funeral, this is usually unavoidable |
| Use of limousine for transportation of family | $150-$350 | This is entirely optional; you may drive your own car |
| Utility van/flower car/lead car | $100-$200 | This is entirely optional; you may drive your own car |
| Charge for forwarding remains to another funeral home | $1400-$3000 | Implicitly contains the receiving funeral home’s charge for receiving remains |
| Charge for receiving remains from another funeral home | $1000-$2500 | Implicitly contains the forwarding funeral home’s charge for forwarding remains |
Additional services:
| Item | Price Range | Notes |
| Tent and chair set-up at cemetery/gravesite | $100-$150 | The cemetery may offer this service as well |
| Charge for keeping the body at the funeral home (per day) | $100-$300 | Charges may begin immediately or after a certain number of days |
| Charge for refrigerating the body (per day) | $50-$100 | May be in addition to the daily charge for keeping the body at the funeral home |
| Charge for choosing cremation | $300-$400 | In addition to the cost of the cremation |
For the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Guide For Funerals, click here.