Harrell Funeral Home is prepared to care for families safely through these unprecedented times. The funeral home is quickly adapting and offering new services to help families receive the support they need from funeral directors, grief counselors and friends.
Under the new shelter-in-place restrictions, Harrell Funeral Home is allowed to remain open 24 hours and continue to perform burial and cremation services. However, gatherings have been drastically limited and can only include small services or personal goodbye viewings limited to 10 people or less. Families are being
encouraged to hold public memorial services as soon as the COVID restrictions lift to allow friends and members of the community the opportunity to say goodbye, show support, and grieve properly.
“COVID-19 continues to alter our lives in ways we never imagined,” said Jason Harrell, owner of Harrell Funeral Home. “We are quickly changing how we interact with families and creating unique solutions help meet customers’ needs. Below are several offerings we have initiated to help families meaningfully commemorate the life of their loved one in these unusual times.”
• Face-to-Face online arrangement planning, as well as the ability to pay and complete all paper-
work online.
• Free tribute video so each family can provide a personal backdrop for their loved one's obituary page. The company will continue to offer the tribute wall on its website for guests to leave condolence messages and share memories.
• Live streaming or recording of a private service can be published to the website’s obituary page upon the family’s approval.
• Text/SMS Notifications for obituary visitors. Visitors can sign-up to receive a text notification when: a recording of the service posts, a live stream service is open to view, or a personal message from the family to invite them
to an upcoming memorial service.
• Hugs from Home program gives those not attending a ceremony the chance to share a token of love and support to the deceased family. People can submit a message through the website and then the message will be
hand-written on cards and given to the families during their service. Families need to know others are there with them in spirit.
• Full-Circle Aftercare Director is available to help families make all the necessary calls for notifications, closing accounts, claiming benefits, changing beneficiaries and protecting your estate. The director will help accomplish almost every non-legal tasks over the phone, in a matter of a couple of hours, without families having to leave their home. Harrell Funeral Home is the only funeral home in Austin providing this service and gives the service as a gift to every family.
• Online Grief Platform is complete with 30+ free courses created by grief and loss experts and 24/7 message-based grief coaching and support.
“We have been partnering with Harrell for several years,” said Greg Young,
co-founder of Funeral Innovations. “Harrell is considered a frontrunner in the funeral industry because they have deep relationships in the community and are great at providing value for their customers through embracing technology in new creative ways.”
“We truly believe in these uncertain times, our home is a place where love can be found instead of fear,” Harrell said. “Our priority is to keep our customers safe and protect staff members from exposure to the virus.
According to the CDC, there is no known risk associated with being in the same room with the body of someone who died of confirmed or suspected COVID-19. However, we have implemented a Digital Identification Process for families to have the option to digitally identify a deceased loved one if they are not able to come to the funeral home to see them due to illness. We are trying to do our part in limiting the spread of the virus in Austin. We are
also requiring guests and employees to minimize direct contact during services and use direct eye contact, loving words, and warm smiles, instead of traditional handshakes and hugs.”
ABOUT HARRELL FUNERAL HOME
Harrell Funeral Home is the largest family-owned funeral home in Austin and serves more than 500 families a year, from three different locations in Austin, Kyle and Dripping Springs.
