Editorâs Note: Cronkite News photographer Alberto Mariani spent several months documenting the work at Peace Chapel Funeral Home. This story contains images that some may find graphic.
PHOENIX â At 10 p.m. no words are spoken, but a loud buzz reverberates throughout Peace Chapel Funeral Home. Itâs the rhythmic beat of an embalming machine pumping a mix of chemicals into a woman in her 50s.
Standing next to the body â working late again â is funeral director Ron Thornson.
Since March 2020, Thornson and his staff have routinely worked 14 to 16 hours a day, without much pause to reflect on the historic events swirling around them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Advertisement: “You are almost taught not to break when you are to serve a family,” he said, explaining that revealing too much could transfer more pain onto those already suffering. “A lot of people don’t understand that as a funeral service worker, you have a big task,” he added. “You are not just picking the body up, cleaning it, putting makeup on and placing it in a casket. You’re expected) to coach the family, to be a financial adviser and to be a psychologist” during one of the toughest moments in life. And in a year when death became an excruciating daily experience for most Americans, even these men and women have been touched by it.
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Program for at-risk youth battles through pandemic obstacles
and last updated 2021-02-19 13:23:25-05
CHICAGO â Vaccination programs continue to work through the most vulnerable and highest priority populations. But many social service workers are still waiting, all the while continuing to support at-risk populations in their communities.
For 15-year-old Kenneth Tolliver, regular in-person meetings with his mentors have kept him tethered during the pandemic.
âIn-person talking is better than over the phone because I know that they re really talking to me,â said Tolliver. âThey really listen to what I m saying.â
Since the seventh grade, Tolliver has been a part of the youth development program at