A FUNERAL fund for homeless people, inspired by the life and death of Newcastle street identity Kev Coady, has had a colourful early benefactor: Port Stephens mayor Bruce MacKenzie.
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Mr Coady, a homeless father figure to many who take refuge on the verandas of Newcastle’s dilapidated old post office, died last week aged 51.
A memorial service was held on Tuesday at Soul Cafe, the Hunter Street charity where Mr Coady had several friends.
His funeral has been arranged for next Wednesday through Pettigrew Family Funerals, but Soul Cafe chief executive Rick Prosser said he was saddened that Mr Coady was nearly laid to rest with a government-ordered destitute funeral.
“I think it’s a crime that blokes like this end up with destitute funerals,” Pastor Prosser said.
“Many of the folks we service tend to be elderly, living below the poverty line and they might die in an apartment somewhere, disconnected from family. It sounds tragic, but I feel that Kev’s death could be the catalyst for something.”
Pastor Prosser has established a “funeral fund” to provide dignified burials for people who die without family or a next of kin to pay for a funeral. Its first contributor is the Port Stephens mayor.
Cr MacKenzie, an outspoken and wildly divisive figure of Hunter business and politics, heard a talkback radio show discussing a Newcastle Herald report of Mr Coady’s death.
He phoned in and, through Pastor Prosser, found out about the funeral fund.
“I said ‘there you go, you’ve got $2000 for it’,” Cr MacKenzie said.
“I haven’t done this for publicity – I didn’t ring through on an open line. It’s not council money, it’s my money. I’d like to do some more in the future.”
Cr MacKenzie said he had seen the old post office this week and been moved by the plight of the people there.
A woman living among “the rubble”, he recalled, had still gone to the effort of combing her hair.
“I was heartbroken,” Cr MacKenzie said.
“I think it’s a disgrace to the community that people have to live like that. If they can’t have dignity in death, they can at least have a dignified burial.”
By a NSW Health department directive, a person who dies without assets or anyone to pay the cost of their burial is provided a casket, the attendance of a minister and, unless they have requested otherwise, is cremated.
At the memorial service for Kevin Coady, Pastor Prosser said people who knew him had shared sad, funny stories and played his favourite instrument, the drums.
Details for donating to the funeral fund will be made available online at soulcafe.org.au.
