Louisiana Funeral Home Offering Discounts on Services

(Baton Rouge, Louisiana) - A funeral home in South Louisiana is in the headlines this week after it announced that it is offering services for a discounted rate.

WAFB reports that A. Hamilton Platinum Funeral Services off of Choctaw is offering families of the deceased a discount, and it's all because of the amount of youth violence in Baton Rouge.

It's no secret that youth violence is on the rise across the country, and Baton Rouge is no exception, as it has seen a recent spike in violence amongst teens.

Assistant Funeral Home Director Keon Preston spoke to the Baton Rouge news station and said, "We’re not burying 75 and 80-year-old people on a daily basis anymore. They’re youngsters. We are burying the future generation, and it becomes very concerning.”

Preston notes that city officials and others are aware of the youth violence in the city, but more needs to be done. He added that when a young person is shot and killed, the funeral home shows up and puts their body in a bag and zips it up, like they're nobody.

The purpose of the message is simple: the youth in Louisiana need to put the guns down and resolve issues, or they may be the next ones to be zippered up in a body bag.

The funeral home offering these discounts hopes the message reaches families and encourages parents to become more involved and aware of their children's lives.  In recent days, the Baton Rouge police have investigated a number of shootings, with the majority involving youth.

The assistant funeral home director notes that they funerla home has doubled its staff for homicides and is now even asking for additional security at services when someone is murdered in Baton Rouge.