Outraged by the number of people she knew who went into debt to fund a funeral, Jenny Briscoe-Hough wanted to give bereaved families an affordable alternative to the services offered by the large companies that dominate the $1.6 billion industry.
Jenny Briscoe-Hough's non-profit community owned funeral home Tender Funerals will be rolled out across Australia.It is part of an initiative, backed by philanthropists, banks and others to address 'funeral poverty' and offer increased choice and transparency around costs.The average funeral costs about $8000. Many cost $15,000 to $20,000. It takes a pensioner about a year to repay that cost.
Tender also relies on volunteers who “do everything, including going with us in the middle of the night to pick up people.” "What is apparent is you can change culture within one funeral. Once people have that experience they don't want another. It is affordable, it is fair and the process is transparent.”
"I had a woman who had paid into a funeral fund since she was in her 60s. When she got into her 80s, they put up her payments. She couldn’t afford the payments, and lost the lot," she said.The idea of insurance for death is ridiculous, because we are all going to die.The cost of a funeral can be a "seismic shock" to someone on a low income, said Louise Campbell, principal of consulting with the not-for-profit Social Ventures Australia.
Each new Tender service will be community run as a social franchise with some conditions: they'll have to agree to offer funerals to anyone without discrimination; to run as a non-profit without making money for another venture; provide choice; and allow participation by families.