Imagine the loss of a precious loved one. Imagine your grief, your pain, your suffering.

Now, add to that you do not have the money for a proper funeral.

Currently in Detroit, says Samuels, "I have approximately 65 to 70 bodies that are ready to be buried. Of those 65 or 70, I can tell you, are 35 or 40 where families have signed off on the bodies and they don't have the funds to bury them." It costs the state - or the county, if the state declines to help - $750 to bury an unclaimed decedent in a potter's grave in Western Wayne County.