LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A special group of high school students are honoring the lives of Louisville's homeless, nameless and unclaimed.
Students from Trinity High School volunteer their time to The Indigent Burial program through the Jefferson County Coroner's Office, and program that's leaving a lasting impact on them.
Michael Beachtel, Daniel George and so many other people meet the end of their lives alone. So the students gather at the Meadow View Cemetery in Valley Station to pray for the homeless being laid to rest.
Carson Song was among those paying it forward on Thursday morning.
"It was really moving for me personally," he said.
Carson kept his grandmother in mind as he prayed at the graveside. Her recent passing prompted him to serve, so the Trinity sophomore joined the St. Joseph of Arimathea Burial Society at school.
Catholic students from all across the Archdiocese of Louisville have gathered weekly since 2006 attending indigent burial ceremonies for people often without family.
"In the Kingdom of God, we are all going to be together, and I think that it's just a way of giving back," Carson said.
From prayers to scriptures, the students stand as one to show the person being buried is loved.
"At first, I was like, well, that seems like kind of a lot," said Marie Laracy, a sophomore at Presentation Academy.. "I mean, going to someone's funeral you’ve never met or heard of. But then it kind of evolved, and I thought, well, you do need someone here."
Trinity High School teacher Chris Lukun said he wants the students to learn they're part of a bigger mission.
"Someone was there when we were born and rejoiced at our birth, and we have had people in our lives," Lukun said. "But we don’t know the situation and the story. And this is our chance to be there at the end of someone's story."
Last semester, Trinity students raised more than $1,000 to help fund 51 headstones.
"I feel like I did something nice today for the people who don’t have family," Marie said.
The burials are a lesson in humanity outside the classroom to hopefully make a difference in the world.
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- Louisville community honors man at indigent ceremony while city plans for new plot
- Proposal for Louisville indigent cemetery moves forward
- City plans new 38-acre indigent cemetery in southwestern Louisville
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