Goode News, FEMA Assistance at Hand!

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought overwhelming grief to many families in our community not to mention the undue financial burden of having to pay for unplanned funeral expenses. While J.F. Goode Funeral Home continues to make every effort to provide affordable funeral services for all of our families, we recognize that the loss of loved ones due to COVID 19, has placed an even greater strain on families’ household budgets that are already struggling with the devastating economic burden that the pandemic has caused. 

We are pleased to inform you that The Federal Emergency Management Assistance has announced that it will begin to accepting applications for reimbursement of up to a maximum of $9,000, for funeral expenses that occurred as a result of a death caused by COVID 19 on April 12, 2021. 

Under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, FEMA will provide financial assistance for COVID-19-related funeral expenses incurred after January 20, 2020. Further details about this important resource can be found at the FEMA assistance website. A summary of the program are noted below; 

Who is Eligible? 
To be eligible for funeral assistance, you must meet these conditions: 

• The death must have occurred in the United States, including the U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia.

• The death certificate must indicate the death was attributed to COVID-19.

• The applicant must be a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified alien who incurred funeral expenses after January 20, 2020.

• There is no requirement for the deceased person to have been a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified alien. 

How to Apply 

Contact the COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Line Number 844-684-6333 | TTY: 800-462-7585 

Hours of Operation: 

Monday - Friday 

8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central Time 

How Funds are Received 

 If you are eligible for funeral assistance you will receive a check by mail, or funds by direct deposit, depending on which option you choose when you apply for assistance. 

Please be aware that FEMA has issued a Fraud Alert that they have received reports of scammers reaching out to people offering to register them for funeral assistance. FEMA has not sent any such notifications as they do not contact people prior to them registering for assistance. 

J.F. Goode Funeral Home is providing this information as a service to our community. Please note that we can only issue paid funeral expense invoices to the responsible family member/individual who contracted with us for services. There will be a nominal administrative fee for copies of paid funeral expenses that were issued prior to January 1, 2021.

We hope that this information is helpful and if you are eligible, we encourage you to take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity to bring those family budgets back in balance.