They are gaining closure and finding some peace in an emotionally overwhelming time. Every person who attends a funeral deserves to attain some solace from the ceremony. But for attendees who live with any disability, the experience at a funeral can take a hit if the arrangements do not accommodate their needs.
The Importance Of Accessible Funerals
Funerals are already emotionally tricky events for most people, but they can be incredibly challenging when they are not accommodative of people with disabilities. Such people may not get to appreciate the funeral ceremony as much as everyone else if some elements of it are inaccessible to them. In this article, we will help you identify and accommodate various types of disability and inaccessibility that are relevant during funeral planning.
Types Of Accessibility To Consider During Funeral Preplanning
Suppose you are in the process of funeral planning and want to ensure that the funeral is accessible and inclusive. In that case, you can start by identifying the types of accessibility that need to be considered and accommodated. Some ways in which a funeral could be inaccessible for an attendee are physical, cognitive, or financial.
To ensure your funeral is physically accessible to all, you should consider selecting the right venue for the funeral service. This could mean picking a platform with a ramp or elevator, sufficient parking space, and accessible bathroom stalls for the convenience of people with physical disabilities. It would help if you also opted for a venue that is easily accessible via public transportation for people who primarily get around using public transport. It would be ideal if you could consolidate all the relevant information for a ride to the funeral venue and make it available to attendees in some form, perhaps a pamphlet or even just as a part of the invitation.
When it comes to cognitive accessibility, you should consider whether any of the funeral attendees have sensory sensitivities and plan to provide aids, for example, noise-canceling headphones if you expect to have loud music, religious or otherwise. Additionally, it would be best if you considered options for people who have visual disabilities, perhaps making the funeral information available in Braille or through audio means. On the other hand, if you are expecting people with hearing disabilities, you can organize a sign language interpreter as needed.
Financial Inclusivity At A Funeral
It is essential not to forget about financial inclusivity when you are fighting out how to make a funeral accessible. Affordability is necessary for funeral planning so that people who are under financial constraints do not have to miss out. One way to be mindful of this factor is to select a venue that is financially feasible for attendees. As mentioned earlier, it could also be a big help for them to have a source of consolidated information about getting to the venue through public transportation.
Another way of being financially inclusive is ensuring that the financial needs of the funeral are already in place. A no-gift policy can relieve attendees of the pressure of bringing something to gift and of being judged if they are unable to afford to do that. If you financially preplan your funeral through funeral insurance or budgeting funeral costs, you can avoid having to rely on contributions from guests, which can create an inclusive experience for those who struggle with having limited means.
Funeral Preplanning For Accessibility
The planning and execution of accessible funerals can be highly stressful for your loved ones, so funeral preplanning is the way to go if you want your funeral to be inclusive. Planning and documenting most of the tasks related to funeral planning well in time can reduce the pressure on your family or friends to get everything right so that you can get the send-off you would like.
You can pre-order a casket at Titan Casket and take one significant task off the shoulders of your loved ones. We recognize the comfort that funeral preplanning can provide, and that is why you can choose to preplan a casket from among any of our 1,000+ casket options.