The financial assistance Alissa* received from Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago to cover the cost of burying her brother was “a godsend,” she says. It not only allowed the single mother to focus on her grieving, but also helped keep her and her 4-year-old son out of debt and in their home.

“I’m going through a really hard time, my heart is heavy,” Alissa says. “What Catholic Charities did, this is my blessing coming from God. It’s such a relief.”

Carrying grief and the added burden of not knowing how they’ll afford to bury their loved ones, hundreds of people like Alissa every month call Catholic Charities seeking support. Generous donations totaling approximately $2 million, most of which came from an anonymous donor, launched Catholic Charities’ funeral and burial assistance program in 2020 at the height of the COVID pandemic — when Catholic Charities often received as many as 600 monthly requests for assistance.

Since then, the program has provided more than $5.9 million to nearly 2,000 families. Catholic Charities is working in partnership with Notre Dame’s Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) to study the impact this assistance has on low-income households. Early results are expected in summer 2025.

“For the families we serve, it becomes a matter of deciding to pay their rent or bury their loved ones,” says Nelly Guzman, director of case management. “We’re stepping in and filling that void.”

The funeral and burial assistance Catholic Charities provides is especially critical because many who receive it are dealing not only with grief and financial stress, but also with trauma: Their loved ones may have died in tragic ways, such as car accidents or gun violence. Alissa’s brother, for example, was fatally shot on a city bus. Shortly afterward, her cousin was murdered in a mass shooting trying to protect children from harm.

Michael,* another recipient of burial assistance from Catholic Charities, didn’t have money for funeral or burial services for his teenage daughter after she was fatally shot while walking home from school. The Catholic Charities team connected Michael with a funeral home and processed the necessary paperwork. They listened to Michael and advocated for him and his family when they were dealing with frustration, anxiety and grief. When Michael learned that Catholic Charities had paid his daughter’s funeral and burial fees in full, he wept.

Tracey Blackburn, who leads a Catholic Charities team that provides housing support and case management, says in addition to providing Michael and his family funeral and burial assistance, her team connected them with counseling services through Catholic Charities’ behavioral health team.

“What we do matters,” she says. “I only hope that with the support of our donors and partners, we can continue to help more families who need us in that way.”  

At current funding levels, Catholic Charities can support an average of 17 families each month with up to $5,000 in funeral and burial assistance. The call center routinely fields dozens more calls, typically from people referred by funeral homes or local parishes. Case managers follow up directly with people within 48 hours. They connect people with wraparound support and resources such as grief counseling, food pantries and housing support, and refer them to other providers when appropriate.

The people who call us are in crisis mode, so we make sure we’re providing empathy and the referrals they need,” says Wendy Avila, director of the call center. “We’re targeting the most vulnerable who have exhausted all of their outside resources. They are the ones most in need.

Alissa would have had a lien put on her home if she hadn’t received assistance from Catholic Charities. Michael would have had to sell his car and go into debt. Another person wrote to their case manager after receiving funeral and burial assistance that they’d believed their situation was hopeless before they were advised to come to Catholic Charities.  

“Catholic Charities extended a hand when we needed it most,” they wrote. “Their generous support of $5,000 toward our son’s funeral and burial expenses is a blessing we could not have anticipated, and we are beyond grateful. It’s a powerful reminder that even in the darkest moments, there are people and organizations that carry light and compassion.”

*Names changed for privacy

By Elizabeth Owens-Schiele, associate director of communications, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago