'A life that matters': supportive care home providing funeral service for unclaimed bodies
It's the second year Victoria Manor Supportive Housing is hosting a celebration of life for unclaimed bodies in Windsor-Essex.
In 2014, executive director Leigh Vachon realized they needed to do more to remember those who had died.
"Several years ago, we had three residents pass away in one week and none of them had funerals," said Vachon. "Some residents at the time expressed that it felt like they were never here, as if they didn't matter."
Vachon said she realized then that they needed to do better to memorialize people who have moved on.
"We mourn the loss, but we never think about the surrealness of them not being there anymore," said Vachon. "There's lots of reasons why people die alone."
Residents at Victoria Manor often have mental health problems. The home is subsidized by the City of Windsor, with 81 of the 118 residents receiving funding from the city as part of the city's housing and homelessness plan.
"We knew that there are times when people pass away and their bodies go unclaimed," said Vachon. "The city will do a burial but there's no one who recognizes or comes forward to say 'I knew this person.'"
So Vachon, in partnership with Morris Sutton Funeral Home and the Good Shepherd Parish organized a celebration of life. The first was held last year and a second one will be held Wednesday evening. It's a multi-faith gathering with the theme 'A Life Lived Has Meaning.'
"Even if it's just our staff, to spend an hour and pay our respects," said Vachon. "Dysfunctional as we are, we are here. We become a family."
Victoria Manor also installed a memorial wall for residents to remember other residents who have moved on, through both death or simply by moving homes.
Certain cemeteries in Windsor-Essex have plots reserved for what the city calls 'curbside burials.' These are traditionally just burials, with no service involved.
Vachon's dream is for services for unclaimed bodies to become a "global movement."
"[We want] recognition that there are many people who leave this world and celebrate that they had a life that matters," said Vachon. "We might not know your names, but you did matter."
