
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, May 16, 1995                   TAG: 9505160076
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

DYING IS COSTLY IN RICHMOND

This city's soaring homicide rate has created a new class of victims: funeral home directors who say the slayings have changed the way they do business.

Their costs have risen so much that some funeral homes now require a significant deposit before they will even accept the body of someone who has died violently. They say they have to, or they'd never stay in business.

``Once they're in the ground, there's no way I can collect,'' said Bernard Mimms of Mimms Funeral Service.

Last year, Richmond had a record 160 homicides, compared with 112 in 1993. The rate has dropped off this year. The city has recorded 35 homicides in 1995.

``I remember years ago when you had a homicide in the city of Richmond, it was a big deal. Now it's nothing,'' said Joseph Jenkins Jr. who has worked in the funeral home business 42 years. ``You're always waiting on the next one.''

Even the rituals of death and burial have changed. Every year, Jenkins handles arrangements for dozens of homicide victims.

``The thing that has affected me the most are all the young men. For some of them, it was just a matter of time. But a lot of them should never have been in here. It was too soon for them to come to me.''

Many homicide victims are penniless, without insurance.

Some families qualify for social assistance for funeral and burial costs, but many others do not. Jenkins tries to work something out.

``I tell them, if they have the resources, spend them. But if they don't, I tell them what I can do for what they've got.''

Finances aside, funeral directors say the effects of street violence can be nearly impossible to cover up.

``The families want them to look like they remember them. Sometimes, there's not much you can do,'' said Ivan L. Foster, an embalmer and funeral director at Chiles Funeral Home.

Richard Lambert, general manager of Scott's Funeral Home, said victims became a magnet for students at a nearby middle school. He's also seen people come by to gloat, or seek revenge.

``We finally had to lock the doors,'' Lambert said.

by CNB