Helping a Grieving Friend: the Dos and Don'ts
When someone is grieving, you may not always know what to do or how to help them. Each person deals with their grief differently and may need different things from those who support them. At Wing-Bain Funeral Home, we want people to get the support they need whether it is from our staff or from people in their personal lives. This list may be helpful when you’re wondering how you can help your grieving friend.
- Respect their process: even if someone’s grief journey does not align with your expectations or experiences, it’s important to understand that their coping mechanisms are different.
- Offer specific help: it’s easy tell someone, “Let me know if you need anything” but those who are grieving usually don’t know what they need. It may be more helpful to offer something direct, for example “can I get you any groceries?” or “are there any errands I can run for you?”
- Listen and be patient: allow your grieving friends to express their feelings without giving any judgement. Grief can be a long process for some, so be understanding and provide support when you can.
- Don’t rush or pressure them: there is no fixed time for healing, so allow your friend to take the time that they need. Avoid pressuring them to talk if they’re not ready, and try to comfortable with silence.
- Don’t disappear: being supportive to your friend even after the initial shock is gone and the funeral is over is important. The weeks and months following a funeral are often the hardest, and this when your friend needs you the most.
- Don’t compare: every loss hurts and each grief is different. Comparing situations can minimize someone’s pain and complicate their grief. Instead, try working on being there for them and allowing them to process things as they need.
People never get over their grief, they just learn to manage it. They often lean on the people around them for support, and to give them the best support you can patience and compassion are key.
Understanding Medicaid Coverage for Funeral Expenses in Minnesota
Medicaid
, the nation’s primary healthcare insurer, plays a crucial role in supporting individuals. Qualification guidelines for the program vary among states and even within counties.
In Minnesota, known as
Medical Assistance
(MA), Medicaid covers doctor visits, hospital stays, and prescriptions. However, it doesn’t directly fund funerals. Yet, there are provisions allowing individuals to finance final expenses.
Prepaid Funeral Plans
Before enrolling in medical assistance, individuals often initiate a “spenddown,” enabling them to allocate funds into an irrevocable funeral trust or insurance policy. These funds, dedicated to burial expenses, cease to count as assets during assistance applications. Irrevocable funeral insurance cannot be canceled or cashed before death, with funeral homes accessing these funds after the individual’s passing.
By setting money asi
Your Options with Cremation at Wing-Bain Funeral Home
Cremation is becoming a more and more popular alternative to a
traditional burial
with a casket. At Wing-Bain Funeral Home in
Montevideo, MN
, there are different routes you can take when you choose
cremation
. Here are a few examples:
Memorial Service
At a memorial service, the body may or may not be present. Often, the cremated remains are put in an urn and family and friends gather to celebrate their loved one’s life. Their picture may be on display as well as flowers or other memorabilia.
Traditional Service with Cremation
This option involves preparing your loved one for a public viewing. This means that embalming would have to take place, and the deceased would be in a rental casket for the funeral service. The rental casket contains a liner that, after the service, would be taken out and brought to the crematory. From there families choose what they would like to do with the ashes, whether it is a burial, scattering, or taking them home.
Direct Cremation
This is the term used when the deceased is cremated and there is no formal viewing or funeral service. The funeral director will arrange to have the body cremated and then the remains are given back to the family.
Cremation is appealing to some because of this flexibility that it offers. Other benefits that cremation has is the possibility of keepsake urns, jewelry, or other items so that you can keep a portion of the cremated remains in remembrance. It is important to determine what is right for your family and what would be the best way to honor your loved one’s wishes.
