About Us

Our history

As a newly licensed Funeral Director in 1997, the founder of 3ABF, Michele Lara, planned to develop a business to provide comprehensive funeral arrangement services for the broad-based community. Ms. Lara soon discovered that God had another plan as she became increasingly aware of the gap in bereavement services available to low-income families. Low-income and working poor bereaved families are confronted with substantial expenses, which many of them find difficult if not impossible to meet, resulting in potential delays for funeral services and significant anguish to the families.

Ms. Lara felt led by God to do something and, thus, 3ABF was incorporated as a faith-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1997 to provide bereavement support services for indigent and low-income families. The original idea that continues to hold true today, is to "Assist, Arrange and Accompany". Specifically, to assist and accompany families through the process of making funeral and interment arrangements for their loved ones.

who we serve

3ABF serves bereaved families near or at the poverty level in the Houston Metropolitan Area. We concentrate on low-income and working poor families who have suffered through the ordeal of long-term illnesses or are shattered by unexpected losses. For the most part, "needy", "poor" and/or "low-income" are not synonymous with homeless or jobless.

Most of the families served by 3ABF are classified as the working poor. These are the loved ones of crime victims, AIDS patients, the severely disabled, the elderly on fixed incomes, stillborn infants, babies and children with birth defects or terminal illnesses, runaways, etc. Over 95% of the families we serve are classified as ethnic minorities and reside in the City of Houston. Family Support Services are made available to all referrals.

give to families