Monday, January 4, 2010 | 6:55 AM
by Jenisha Watts

In Detroit, the tough economy has prevented some residents the privilege of burying their loved ones. Dead bodies are bagged and tagged individually in black plastic bags in the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s refrigerated storage rooms. They are “stacked like shoe boxes,” an image that haunts Shanti Das.

One night while working late, Das, a former Motown Records executive, remembered she had not read the daily financial news. She clicked on CNN Money and saw the headline, “Detroit: Too Broke To Bury Their Dead,” followed with an image of the bodies.

“I was thinking there is something really wrong with this picture,” says Das. “That’s when I immediately wanted to help.”

The same night: she came up with a nonprofit organization, “May WE Rest In Peace,” that helps bury deceased residents in Detroit whose families can’t afford a proper burial. The same night: she wrote to friends and family, a four paragraph e-mail using all caps in some lines saying “I NEED YOUR HELP” signing off “Hear My Cry”. The next morning: she went to her local UPS store and got a mailbox, so people could immediately send donations.

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