New Jersey Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly said he is inundated with phone calls from residents of his Paterson-based district requesting financial help burying family members who died from COVID-19.
He told Politico he is the “unfortunate sponsor of a needed bill” that would set aside $20 million to create a burial assistance fund for families of coronavirus victims.
“People have reached out to our office for assistance, and people are going the route of GoFundMe accounts and things of that nature to bury their loved ones — and the old fashioned pass the hat with the family,” Wimberly said.
Paterson has had about 175 deaths. The largest county in his district, Passaic County, has recorded 690 deaths. New Jersey has been a hot spot for the virus.
The state already has a funeral public assistance program for residents enrolled in state and federal welfare programs, which pays up to $2,246 for funeral expenses and $524 for cemetery expenses. It allows families to supplement the contribution with up to $1,570 of their own money.
Wimberly’s bill would create a one-year program with less stringent guidelines on eligibility. The state’s human services commissioner would decide the maximum amount a family could be reimbursed for funeral expenses.
The fund would pay for funeral expenses and require applicants to provide the state with “documentation regarding the applicant’s available household assets and income as of the date of the death.” The program would use federal funds before using New Jersey’s general fund.
It’s not clear whether the bill will advance. A companion bill has not been introduced in the Senate.
Althea Ford, the director of government relations for the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association, said the funeral home and crematory industry has seen about double its normal volume due to the coronavirus outbreak.
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