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.

14 + 2 =

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.