October 2, 2024
When your mind is trying to comprehend the massive loss of your child and you have so many things thrown at you at once, you just want to curl up in a ball and cry.
But you can’t because there’s too many things that need to be done especially when your child has been murdered.
In the middle of planning John’s funeral, my cousin told me about the Ohio Victims Crime Compensation Program and said I should file a claim since John was a victim of homicide. She told me to file as soon as possible because she knew we didn’t have the funds to pay for John’s funeral and that’s one of the expenses the fund covers.
I went online and tried to start the claim but wasn’t able to do so.
First, mentally I wasn’t able to do it, and second, I quickly found out it’s a reimbursement type process and not a fund that pays the expenses upfront.
The GoFundMe was taking care of the immediate need for John’s funeral expenses so I set this aside and said I would come back to it at a later time.
Today is the day.
I’m still in the midst of my grief but the claim needs to be filed.
I revisited the site and read the instructions.
Since John was the victim of a homicide, and he wasn’t married, we as his parents are victims too, and as a victim, we’re eligible to receive compensation through the Ohio Victims of Crime Compensation Program which covers several different expenses including:
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Wages lost due to the crime
- Counseling for family members of homicide victims
- Travel expenses for family members to attend court
- Financial support for dependents of a deceased victim
In order to file a claim, you have to gather documentation to support your claim and go through several different processes.
I sighed and thought, “more crap to add on my plate”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful the state of Ohio has this program in place. I’m just saying when you’re buried in grief, taking care of business is the last thing you want or feel like doing.
But someone has to do it.
And that someone is me.
My brain can’t fully decipher what I’m reading so I decided to look in the booklet of information I received from the Prosecutors office to see if there was someone I could contact for assistance
I located the phone number for the Ohio Victims of Crime Compensation Program and gave them a call. The woman who answered my call was very nice and gave me a few attorneys to call for assistance.
The first two on the list no longer assist victims with filing claims.
The third one I called was an older gentleman who was very direct.
“Well, you have to truly be a victim of a covered crime in order to file a claim”, he said curtly.
“We are. Our son was murdered.” I replied.
He changed his tone immediately and said he would be happy to help me.
I was told the fund has a limit of $7,500 and things such as funeral expenses, burial expenses (including John’s clothes and grave marker), loss of wages, travel expenses for the family and food would be included. I should gather all receipts and documentation together and email everything to him. He would then file the claim on my behalf. But before doing so, I needed to fill out some paperwork and return it to him.
“What’s your email address”? He asked.
I gave him my email address and he said he would send me the paperwork after we hung up.
I thanked him, said goodbye and waited.
It’s never-ending but I have to do what needs to be done. The money raised from the GoFundMe was used for John’s funeral expenses and I still need to get his grave marker.
I received the email shortly after our conversation. In it, he also said he would need a copy of Johns birth certificate which is something I’ve procrastinated to get.
I guess I have no choice now. While I’m at it, I’ll order John’s autopsy too.
“God,” I prayed, “Please give me the strength to handle all of this and to read his autopsy report when it comes.”
It was another night full of tears.
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