Overwhelmed and often forgotten, funeral homes are running out of space

(FOX 2) - A few funeral home workers are coming together to shed light on how the coronavirus has reshaped their industry. They're feeling overwhelmed and are busier than they've ever been. 

"It's bad. It's much worse than anybody could ever imagine," said Scott Hurrell from AJ Desmond & Sons Funeral Homes. "People are dying and it is very sad. It's very difficult."

"Our volume here has over doubled. Some are so overwhelmed they're not even able to assist families," Melanie Neddow from Lynch & Sons Funeral Home said.  

Funeral homes across metro Detroit say the number of bodies they're getting is like nothing they've ever seen, from New Baltimore to Troy. 

"In a normal case we see anywhere from about 80 to 90 a month total and we're heading into the hundreds," Hurrell said. 

And in Detroit, Clora Funeral Home went from 20 a week to 60. Smaller funeral homes are having to use outside companies to store bodies.

RELATED: COVID-19 has killed more Detroiters than homicides have in the past two years combined 

"We look at each other when the phone rings and wonder what's going to be on the other end of the line because the phone is constantly ringing right now," said Michaelyn Sebold from Gendernalik Funeral Home. 

A source from a local mortuary transportation company says within the last three days they've picked up more than 60 bodies. He says they usually transfer 130-150 bodies a month but have surpassed 200 calls in just 15 days.

"The whole industry itself just really needs some light shed on it because we need help," Sebold said. 

Another local crematory was forced to shut down for four days to catch up after getting 60 bodies in just one day. 

"We're just doing the best that we can, trying to get death certificates signed as quickly as we can so that we don't have bodies stacked up or stored for too long," said Neddow. Off-site morgues that have been set up by hospitals are helping.

"We have a couple of families that are trying to wait it out to see if they can view this and have their public ceremony after things loosen up a bit," Hurrell said. 

The most difficult part for these folks is not being able to support those losing loved ones in-person, even with a simple hug.

"For us, inside, that just tears us up," Huttell said. 

"It's absolutely heartbreaking," Neddow said. 

And on top of that, they're running out of necessities like masks, hand sanitizer and Hazmat suits.

"We can't get things. It's either delayed or we're forgotten," Sebold said. 

"If we don't get some soon, we certainly will run out and that's dangerous for our staff," Huttell said.  

They all say they're doing the best they can and are asking for some patience - and for people to take the virus more seriously.