“There was a time when people had life insurance, and they got it through their job. When the economy went down and people lost their jobs, that changed,” Phillips said. “We are also seeing the age that people die getting lower and lower. The ages of 18 to 40 are what we are seeing for overdose deaths. That is leaving minor children who are not prepared or able to bury the parent.”
Thirty-eight people received an indigent burial at a cost of $18,253 last year in Middletown, up from 36 and $17,735 in 2013. Phillips said 19 of the burials in 2014 were from people who died from drugs; that number was 10 in 2013. So far this year, there have been 12 indigent burials, three of them drug related.
In Hamilton last year, there were 20 indigent cremations at a cost of $10,514, nearly double the 12 cremations and $5,603 in 2013. So far this year, there have been 5 indigent cremations in the city.
Hamilton saw its largest number of indigent cremations in the past five years in 2011 when there were 40 at a total cost of $19,000. Farrar said she could not give a reason for the high number of indigent deaths in 2011.
“Deaths are unpredictable,” she said.
Phillips said in the past five years, indigent remains have been cremated rather than traditional burial to keep costs down. The exception is if the deceased is unidentified or a victim of homicide.
“I would say the costs are about the same now as the early 2000s, even though there were many less indigent deaths, because the cost of burial is much higher,” Phillips said.
If families are unable to pay for a burial of a loved one, they fill out an application and the immediate family is vetted to determine if there is true indigence.
“Not everyone is approved,” Farrar said, noting she as had family members with financial means apply because for whatever reason they did not want to pay for a burial. “It is reserved for the people who really can’t afford it.”
Fairfield has had far fewer indigent cremations in the past five years with a total of seven at a cost of $3,500.
The numbers are also smaller for some of Butler County’s townships. From 2010 to 2015, Liberty Twp. has had two cremations for a total cost of $1,000; West Chester Twp. has had nine cremations for a total cost of $5,550; and Fairfield Twp. had five indigent burials for a total cost of $1,500 from 2009 to 2014.
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