Monthly Archives: November 2022

Why The Bereaved Need Grief Support

Not many people know that funeral homes in Shelby Charter, MI offer resources for after-care services to help the bereaved deal with grief. There is growing awareness of the need for after-care services for people who are overwhelmed with grief and are in need of direction. Grief is a natural reaction to death but the bereaved can sometimes find it extremely hard to let go, especially if they were not prepared for their loved one’s passing. Here are reasons why grief support is essential.

Why You May Need Funeral After-Care Services

Grief counseling and other compassionate care services are meant to help the bereaved work through the waves of emotions they may feel after losing a loved one. Grief often starts with denial that the death has actually happened and then anger follows. Then there is bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance. While there are different stages of grief, not everyone goes through each stage the same way. Signs of grieving vary from person to person and may include reactions such as loss of sleep, shock, anxiety, loss of appetite, anger, distress, and more. This means grief counseling should be personalized.

People Experience Grief Differently

The different types of grief include complicated grief, broken heart syndrome, traumatic grief, and depression and grief. Complicated grief is where the symptoms of grief last for at least a year. How intense this grief depends on the individual experiencing it. This kind of grief often produces multiple symptoms that make it harder to get through your daily routine. Traumatic grief only shows symptoms days or weeks after a loved one dies in a traumatic event such as a car accident. Broken heart syndrome happens when a bereaved person gets shocked by the news of a death to the point where their heart health is affected. Chest pains are often the most obvious symptom of this kind of grief.

Techniques Of Grief Support

Grief counseling is meant to help you express your emotions, treat trauma, establish a support system, address your emotions, and help you accept the reality of the loss. So, when you talk to a grief counselor, they are likely to ask you to describe how you feel and also encourage you to talk about the loss. Accepting that you are grieving is really important because you will now be able to understand the symptoms you experience after your loved one’s death. Grief counseling can also help deal with anxiety, guilt, and fear.

Children’s Grief Is Different

Most of the time minor children do not know or understand what has just happened when a loved one dies. Even pre-teens experience difficulty processing death. A counselor is likely to help the child understand the concept of death before helping them accept the reality that their loved one has just died. They may also teach the child to grieve in a healthy manner.

Our experienced professional staff can help you find the grief counseling resources you need when explaining the funeral and cremation services in Shelby Charter Township, MI.

How To Buy A Headstone

A headstone is among the items most funeral homes in Chesterfield Township, MI will ask you to choose if your loved one has passed away. But you have to consult a cemetery to see if they allow headstones and what types of headstones they allow. Headstones are not just a way to honor your loved one but also mark where your loved one is buried. Here is a simple way to buy a headstone.

Visit the cemetery

You need to visit the cemetery grounds and look at the headstones, monuments, and grave markers to get an idea of what you want. You can also talk to cemetery staff and describe your headstone idea to see what they think.

Pick The Right Size Of Headstone

Contact the cemetery and inquire about the maximum headstone size they allow. They can tell you about their requirements and even help you understand their rules and regulations. Once you have checked with the cemetery, go ahead and get a headstone of the correct size.

Choose The Headstone Shape You Prefer

Headstones come in various shapes such as square top, half round, oval with shoulders, peon top, serpentine top, and more. Traditional headstones are a safer choice but if you are adventurous you can go for shapes such as half-ogee-top or even offset-peon-top headstones. But monument dealers are probably going to charge you more for headstones that have creative shapes that make a graveside stand out.

Select An Epitaph Or Verse That Says Something About The Life Of Your Loved One

Epitaphs and verses are not hard to get, but you need something moving or something that sends a good message. Just think carefully about what you want to write on the headstone. It’s up to you how personalized you want the headstone to be. Some people even add amusing messages on the headstone marking the grave of their loved one. Other information added to a headstone includes the full name of the deceased and their date of birth and death.

Pick A Font That Is Easy To Read

There are hundreds of fonts you can choose from, but remember that you need a font that anyone can read easily. The traditional fonts used for headstones include Script, Times Roman, and Block. Talk to the monument owner and have them sketch the name of your loved one in the different fonts you are drawn to on a piece of paper.

Choose The Right Color

You can choose neutral colors such as barre gray, memory rose, and Dakota mahogany. But there are many other colors for granite headstones that you can pick. The right color could be the color that you feel will make it easier for people to see the photo and epitaph on the headstone. You could also pick your loved one’s favorite color.

Our caring and experienced professionals can advise you about headstones. Arranging the funeral down to its smallest detail is part of what we do when providing funeral and cremation services in Chesterfield Township, MI.

Funerals Scams You Should Avoid

After losing a loved one it’s always a good idea to call several funeral homes in Chesterfield Township, MI to find out if they offer the funeral services you are looking for. During this stage of finding a funeral home, you are likely to run up against some scams. Scammers can target you at every stage of the funeral arrangement process. Here are some scams you should look out for.

Why Scammers Target The Bereaved

Scamming is a distasteful thing for anyone to do, but there are many crooks that specifically target the bereaved because they are vulnerable. You have to be careful who you talk to about your deceased loved one, and who you welcome into your home during the memorial or funeral service.

Robbers Targeting Homes Of The Bereaved

Some scammers read published obituaries and the time of services so that they can determine when the family will not be in their home. You can prevent this by having someone stay at home at the time of the memorial or funeral service so that no crook will be tempted to enter and rob the place. You can talk to a funeral director if you are concerned that crooks may use the obituary to target your loved one’s home.

Stealing The Identity Of The Deceased Person

Crooks seek out a specific deceased person and steal their Social Security Number and other important information. They use the information to open accounts, take loans, and file tax returns. While this kind of scam does not often result in the family members of the deceased facing lawsuits, it can cause a lot of frustration and havoc. This kind of scam is known as “ghosting”.

How To Protect Yourself From Ghosting

You can ask your funeral director not to include information such as birth date, maiden name and other information crooks can use to guess someone’s Social Security Number in the obituary. You can also call the Social Security Administration to report your loved one’s death. Another precaution is to order multiple certified copies of the death certificate with and without the cause of death. You should request a copy of a credit report of the deceased and use it to find any active accounts or debts that the deceased owed. But if you suspect that fraud has already occurred and you have evidence, contact the police in the deceased’s jurisdiction.

Beware Of Fake Funeral Companies

It is always a good idea to visit the physical location of a funeral home you found online or found in an advert in traditional media such as magazines or newspapers. This is especially important if you are pre-planning your funeral. There are people that have purchased caskets and funeral packages online without researching whether the company they are transacting with is legit.

We have been providing funeral and cremation services in Chesterfield Township, MI for years. Our caring and experienced staff will not only advise you on funeral scams but also help you create a lasting and meaningful tribute to the life of your loved one.

What Type Of Urn Is Best For Ashes

All funeral homes in Washington Township, MI offer a variety of urns for cremation ashes. Not all urn options are appropriate for keeping ashes for a long time. Urns are also made using various materials meaning that they vary in price. The best urn for you is the urn that catches your eye and is within your budget. Here are some tips for getting the best urn.

What You Want To Do With The Ashes Is Important

It doesn’t make sense to buy an expensive urn when all you want to do is scatter or bury the ashes. There are affordable urns that you can use to keep the ashes before you scatter them or you can put them in any container that can securely hold the ashes. Biodegradable urns that easily break down in water or while buried in the earth are a great choice if you are considering water burial or natural burial for the ashes. If you want to keep the ashes, buy a durable urn that you can display in a room in your house. You will need more than one urn if you want family members to share the ashes.

Material Used To Make The Urn

Consider the material used to make the urn, but base your decision not only on your budget but also on how you want to use the urn. Urns made of harder more durable materials such as wood, metal, ceramic, and glass are a better option if you want to keep the ashes for a long time. Frequently people choose the type of material that they prefer rather than considering how they want to use the urn. In case you want to bury the urn, consult the cemetery staff to confirm if they may require a concrete vault for the urn.

Consider Size And Shape Of The Urn

Urns come in different sizes and shapes. Fortunately, retailers add the amount in cubic meters each urn can hold in the label. They may make it simpler for you to tell the appropriate size of an urn by the weight of the person who was cremated. The shape of the urn varies from vase-shaped urns to simple wooden boxes. If an urn has a simple box shape, it may be intended for holding the ash temporarily as you search for a suitable urn for the ashes of your loved one.

Custom Urns For Your Garden

If your loved one used to love the outdoors or gardening, you should consider custom garden urns. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some are made to look like huge tear drops while others are curved into the shape of the Buddha. They are normally designed not to look out of place in the garden. But they are more expensive than traditional urns you may find at your local funeral home.

We provide funeral and cremation services in Washington Township, MI, and can help you find the right urn for your loved one’s ashes. Our professional staff has years of experience helping families to organize funerals and will support and guide you through the loss of a loved one.

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