City will pay $2,000 toward Philly homicide victims’ funerals in new program
The program, called the Homicide Victim Funeral Assistance (HVFA) Program, will be available to families who lose loved ones on or after March 1.
Families of people killed in Philadelphia will be eligible to receive up to $2,000 to help cover funeral costs under a new city program announced Wednesday.
The initiative, called the Homicide Victim Funeral Assistance (HVFA) Program, will be available to families whose loved ones are killed on or after March 1, city officials said. The money will be paid directly to funeral service providers, with applications reviewed within 48 hours, they said.
“Grief is not a bill you should have to carry alone,” said Adam Geer, the city’s chief public safety director, during a news conference unveiling the program.
The program will be administered by the city’s Office of the Victim Advocate, a division of its Office of Public Safety created last year and led by Adara Combs.
Combs said the initiative grew out of conversations with families who found themselves planning funerals while still in shock, and struggling financially.
“This program is born out of listening,” she said.
The average funeral costs $9,100 in Philadelphia, according to data collected by the Senior Rate Registry. When a loved one is murdered, that expense can arrive suddenly and without warning, Geer said.
To qualify for aid, families must show their loved one was killed in the city and that their death was ruled a homicide, Combs said.
The city’s program is meant to be a supplement to existing state aid. Families may also apply for up to $6,500 reimbursement through the state’s Victims Compensation Assistance Program, she said.
The announcement comes as homicides in Philadelphia have fallen sharply in recent years. After peaking at 562 killings in 2021, the city recorded 255 murders last year — its lowest number in 60 years, according to police data. As of Tuesday, 15 people had been killed so far this year.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said the program is a way for the city to move beyond platitudes.
“I get so tired of telling people that ... our thoughts and prayers are with you,” she said. “We’re sending thoughts and prayers, but they’re literally looking at funeral bills, and they’re trying to figure out, in the midst of this loss, how will we pay?”
“I am proud that we have been able to come together and use government as a tool to help families in need,” she said.
To receive additional information or apply after March 1, call 215-686-2115 or email OVAfuneralfund@phila.gov.