Facilitated by Isabel Knight and Kyra Overmeier
Laurel Hill West, Conservatory
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Did you know the average funeral in America costs over $10,000? In America, where 37% of Americans could not cover a $400 emergency expense out of pocket, this can be prohibitively expensive, especially if someone dies unexpectedly. In Philadelphia in particular, the most common GoFundMe campaign during Covid-19 was for covering funeral expenses.
Join Philadelphia Community Deathcare for a workshop on how to die affordably in Philadelphia. We will talk about how you can craft your own beautiful ceremony at home, with or without paying for a funeral director, or only paying for minimal services such as transportation to a cemetery/crematory and help with filing death certificate paperwork. Most people don't realize that this is actually legal in every state in America!
This workshop will serve as an excellent setup for the shrouding workshop to follow, so if you attend this one, we highly recommend staying for the shrouding workshop in the same space immediately afterwards.
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Isabel Knight is the Founder of The Death Designer, a company that provides end of life planning services, including funeral and vigil planning, digital account password management, advance directives, and assistance with reconciling fears of mortality. She takes a human-centered design approach, with a focus on promoting individual autonomy, sustainability, and home deathcare options. Her goal is to create a more humane and equitable end of life experience for all.
Additionally, Isabel is a volunteer for Philly Community Deathcare, a group that assists people with after-death care in Philadelphia for free, the President of the National Home Funeral Alliance, a national nonprofit that educates communities how to care for their own dead, and a board member of the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Pennsylvania, a group that promotes funeral consumer rights and publishes funeral price lists for price shoppers. You can find her on Instagram at @thedeathdesigner.
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Kyra Overmeier is a creative, ritual-oriented, compassionate death doula based just outside of the Philly area. She is a passionate advocate for people, looking to continue the work of a community that comes together to support one another. The scope and vision of what she does and hopes to do includes promoting and nurturing conversation around death, grief, and the myriad of feelings that exist among the living and dying. She is a companion and provider of resources for people and their loved ones before, during, and after death. It is within the wisdom of this work that she believes people can find their own meanings and understanding of life and liberation.
Kyra is also a member of Philadelphia Community Deathcare and conducts workshops and has art at South Street Art Mart. You can reach Kyra through email at kyra_oh32@yahoo.com