ANNOUNCING GRIEFNET: BEREAVEMENT AND LOSS RESOURCES NOW ON-LINE

Date:    August 23, 1994

Contact: Cendra Lynn
         griefnet@rivendell.org
         (313) 761-1960

Rivendell Resources, a non-profit corporation providing information to
professional and lay persons dealing with bereavement, grief, and major
loss, has established GriefNet, a free-access on-line referral and support
network.  Access to the Internet-based system is available by pointing a
gopher client at gopher.rivendell.org 9004 

(URL gopher://gopher.rivendell.org:9004).


GriefNet provides:

   * comprehensive support resource listings
   * a directory of professionals providing services in related areas
   * information on ADEC, the Association for Death Education and
     Counseling
   * a bibliography of grief and major loss publications
   * a set of electronic mailing lists where subscribers may discuss
     specific grief- and loss-related topics.

GriefNet is sustained by grants and contributions of both cash and
information.  Organizations and individuals in the field are encouraged to
add their resources to the GriefNet database.  Other services such as
mailbox addresses, guides to current research, on-line conferencing,
current literature and reviews will be added based on system usage and
user input.

Typical users of GriefNet might include:

   * a hospital social worker who needs to find out what support
     groups are available for the parents of a childhood leukemia
     victim in a neighboring county;

   * a woman in California seeking information on hospices in
     upstate New York to care for her dying father;

   * a crisis hot-line volunteer wanting more information on support
     resources for someone whose loved one has committed suicide;

   * a funeral director seeking support resources for members of a
     bereaved family who have come from another state to attend a
     funeral


GriefNet's topical resource listings include:
   - general bereavement support
   - crisis lines
   - bereaved parents' support
   - resources for children, adolescents, & young adults
   - widowed persons' support
   - hospices
   - resources for those who have lost someone due to suicide or homicide
   - resources for both professional and personal caregivers
   - media resources
   - chronic illness and physical loss resources
   - classes, conferences, workshops, and educational opportunities
   - topical articles
   - poetry

Listings are organized both by geographic location and by topic and are
updated continually as more resources are discovered.  Currently the
listings focus on the United States and Canada, but information for other
countries is also being added.

Mailing lists are created as demand warrants.  Currently there are lists
for widowed persons, caregivers, thanatologists, and general information. 
To subscribe to a list, or to inquire about the availability of a mailing
list for a specific topic, please contact Rivendell.


About Rivendell Resources
-------------------------

Rivendell Resources is a non-profit organization dedicated to gathering
and disseminating information in the fields of death, dying, bereavement,
and major loss.  Rivendell Resources publishes a bi-monthly paper journal,
_Bereavement & Loss Resources_, with listings for all of Michigan and
neighboring areas of Ohio, Wisconsin, and Ontario.  Growth in the field
has led to corresponding growth of the newsletter, and the realization
that further expansion, both topically and geographically, can only be
accomplished via non-paper means.

Responding to continual requests for information on resources available
elsewhere, and recognizing the potential of the Internet for building a
supportive, location-independent community, Rivendell has established
GriefNet to provide a single, well-known, universally-accessible
destination for those seeking bereavement, grief, and related support
resources.