Death Doesn't End Need For Social Worker's Help

A social worker decides to give an "unfair" local funeral business some needed competition.

When social worker Laurie Smith Lawson found out how much families were being charged for funeral services in Mississippi, she decided to open up her own funerary business — one that wouldn't take advantage of the bereaved for profit.

Lawson, executive director of the Clinton Community Christian Corporation, says she opened the Smith Mortuary Company with Charlie Smith in January 1999. The decision was made after she and her business partners conducted a study of the population and its annual incidence of deaths, as well as the rates being charged by local funeral homes.

She said her study found that families, many poor and unable to afford the expense, were paying thousands of dollars more than they should have.

"We [the Clinton Community Christian Corporation] found ourselves having to take up collections and help out," Lawson said in a December interview.

So she and Smith decided to offer the same services for as much as 70 percent below standard costs — and to do so without being "no-frills or cheap," she said. Providing "a dignified funeral service at a lower cost" is their aim, said Lawson, who also offers counseling services to the bereaved.

"The concept is definitely social work. We're looking at folks who are hurting and presenting them an alternative so they don't feel their backs are against the wall."

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