Imagine the loss of a precious loved one. Imagine your grief, your pain, your suffering.

Now, add to that you do not have the money for a proper funeral.

Currently in Detroit, says Samuels, "I have approximately 65 to 70 bodies that are ready to be buried. Of those 65 or 70, I can tell you, are 35 or 40 where families have signed off on the bodies and they don't have the funds to bury them." It costs the state - or the county, if the state declines to help - $750 to bury an unclaimed decedent in a potter's grave in Western Wayne County.

That is still only a small fraction of what a traditional burial costs a family. (According to the most recent statistics from the National Funeral Directors Association, a regular adult funeral with burial, not including cemetery, monument or marker costs, averages $7,323.) Even so, the costs can quickly add up for a place like Wayne County. "Per capita, we're probably the fifth busiest medical examiner's office in the country," says Samuels. "We handle 13,000 death calls a year and almost 3,600 bodies come through this system a year. So you're talking about 10 bodies a day average."

I'm actually not surprised, but this story might just bring home how badly people are hurting....to the point they cannot bury their dead.

Oh yeah, let's remember 11% of the nation is on food stamps, which means they are pitifully poor.