The NHFA has been Advocating for Home Funerals at the FTC Workshop in Washington DC
This past Thursday, the National Home Funeral Alliance Board President Isabel Knight was advocating for funeral consumers, including home funeral families and individuals, at a workshop the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was holding regarding updating the Funeral Rule in Washington DC. Isabel served on 2 of the 5 panels during the day, which covered how the FTC should require funeral homes to post prices if the FTC mandates that funeral homes post prices online, and revisions to the general price list, such as whether or not the embalming disclosure should be re-written. The NHFA advocated for funeral homes posting clear pricing pages from the topline navigation of their websites, as well as ensuring that funeral homes do not try to get around the legislation by hiding their pricing pages from Google search results. We also advocated for more disclosures so that people who are shopping for funeral prices can understand their rights under the funeral rule, as well as their right to a home funeral in every state. You can view a recording of the workshop here. Some useful timestamps:
Link to a news piece on the issue.
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Join us on Wednesday, September 27th at 5pm PT | 8pm ET for BACKYARD BURIALS with Elizabeth Fournier of Green Burial Portland.
Register to attend this event live, or receive the recording made available afterward to all registrants. There is a sliding scale to attend, starting at $10. Link to register here. In this webinar, green burial advocate Elizabeth Fournier will talk about backyard burial in the United States. A backyard burial includes burying a person on residential property, or land that is privately owned. Most bodies are buried in established, endorsed cemeteries, but burial on private property may be possible. Laws vary not only state to state but county to county in the US; it’s most accepted and typical in rural settings. If you are considering a backyard burial, think carefully about what it may mean for the property itself and the person who owns it (which may be yourself). All other issues aside, burying someone on private land impacts the future sale of that property. In addition, however remote the concern may be, you should consider how you’d feel, and what you would do, if your deceased loved one resided on property that you no longer owned. About Elizabeth: Elizabeth Fournier began her career in 1990 in Portland, OR, where she was employed as the live-in night keeper, sleeping in a trailer in a Portland cemetery. Thirty-three years later, she is a one-woman funeral service in the rural town of Boring, Oregon. Elizabeth owns and operates Cornerstone Funeral Services where she is affectionately known as “The Green Reaper” for her green burial advocacy. She is also the Manager of Historic Columbian Cemetery, Portland's newest green burial choice, and author of The Green Burial Guidebook: Everything You Need to Plan an Affordable, Environmentally Friendly Burial. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Global Green Burial Alliance, gave a TEDx talk called, "Going Green: The Last Act of Environmental Volunteerism," and People Magazine honored her work by writing, “Elizabeth Fournier is doing her part to change the way Americans bury their dead.” Vote to see Community Deathcare Panels at SXSW 2024!
See links to vote below. NHFA Board Member Isabel Knight & former Board Member Lashanna Williams are pitching two panels on community deathcare for the 2024 South by Southwest Conference. Your input during the Community Voting Period (until 8/20) can help make these panels a reality! PANEL #1: ARE YOU AFRAID TO DIE ALONE? WHY WE NEED COMMUNITY DEATHCARE Join us, a group of nonprofit leaders whose organizations are championing community deathcare as we talk about why deathcare is inherently a community-driven project. You cannot have a good death without a community, and the heroic, difficult, often thankless act of building that community is something that itself will help you live a longer, richer life. You simply can’t lift a body, wash and shroud a body, or dig a grave by yourself. The future we want to see is one where people die when they want to, where they want to, and how they want to. You are an integral part of making that happen. With: Isabel Knight, President, National Home Funeral Alliance Sarit Wishnevski, Executive Director, Kavod v'Nichum Lashanna Williams, Executive Director, A Sacred Passing Emily Miller, Board Member, Green Burial Council Vote for "Are You Afraid to Die Alone?" at SXSW 2024 here. PANEL #2: ALIX IN FUNERALLAND: OVERCOMING IMPOSSIBLE DEATHCARE THINGS Inspired by the nonsensical world of Alice in Wonderland, we identify “impossible” challenges experienced with deathcare, suggesting ways to overcome them, individually and collectively. Included: The Rabbit Hole (pressure for getting it right and doing enough), The White Rabbit (white western world social expectations for death and funerals), The Cheshire Cat (grief which comes and goes forcefully, without warning), The Queen of Hearts (marginalization of experiences from personal and professional structures), and a sequel, The Jabberwocky (a fearsome life that remains). With: Bonnie Bizzell, Owner & Guide, BOANN Ashley Johnson, Founder, Death Doula, Loyal Hands Lashanna Williams, Executive Director, A Sacred Passing Sara Williams, President, Funeral Consumers Alliance North Carolina Vote for “Alix in FuneralLand” at SXSW 2024 here. |
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