Not long ago I saw a local public affairs program on a Philadelphia TV station where various community leaders and activists were talking with local government officials about youth violence and the skyrocketing homicides in the city (400 last year). One of the participants was Paul Vallas, the superintendent of the public schools there. At one point an interesting issue came up – who pays the funeral costs for these youngsters, if their families cannot afford to bury them? The answer is: the Philadelphia Public Schools. The superintendent finds the money somehow and then negotiates some consideration from local funeral homes to help with the expenses.
There was something oddly touching about this. Something deeply human emerged from an otherwise very bureaucratic and dehumanizing conversation. Somehow we find a way to bury these children. We just don’t seem to have the wherewithal to keep them alive.
Then I came across this site, Skeletons in the Closet, from the Los Angeles Coroner’s Office. The folks there sell a lot of cool stuff with logos attached. Stuff like garment bags with a “Body Bag” logo on it, key chains made with official coroner toe tags. They also have a full line of shirts and jackets; even office supplies like post-it notes and mouse pads with body outlines on them. For those with more refined tastes, they even have kitchen supplies like cutting boards with chalk outlines and the tag line “We have our work cut out for us”.
This dark humor isn’t for everyone, of course. The money they raise from this enterprise goes to fund youth DUI prevention programs and such.
This may be a great idea for other cities as well. Perhaps cities like Philadelphia could launch a similar product line to fund more gang intervention programs, or leadership programs in middle schools. And oh yeah, maybe some of the funds could also be used for burying our kids. Just a thought.
Again here is the link.
