New law helps pay funeral costs of children killed by gun violence

By Cheyanne M. Daniels, May 11, 2022 02:21 PM

The Mychal Moultry Jr. Funeral and Burial Assistance Act was signed into law on Tuesday. It provides up to $10,000 in burial funds for families who lose children under 17 to gun violence.

When 4-year-old Mychal Moultry Jr. was shot and killed in early September, his family couldn’t afford a burial, so they chose cremation — and their funeral expenses still totaled $13,000.

It was Dr. Dave Nayak’s community nonprofit Strength to Love that covered those costs. But Nayak knew then this was not a unique situation.

That’s why Nayak approached state Sen. Jacqueline Collins to spearhead legislation that became the Mychal Moultry Jr. Funeral and Burial Assistance Act.

“When you hear of a family who is forced to cremate their child, instead of bury them, it’s absolutely even more traumatic,” said Nayak. “They have to see that memory of their cremated child on their bedside rather than actually going to a place where they can actually breathe and help the mourning process.”

Read full article: https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2022/5/11/23067341/youth-burial-assistance-grant-program-collins-lilly-gun-violence-funerals-mychal-moultry?_amp=true