After
the death of a loved one, we're forced to handle arrangements we’ve never had
to face before. These sites can help.
When we
face the death of a loved one, we often find ourselves handling arrangements
and answering questions we’ve never had to face before — all while we’re often
blindsided by grief.
The
people who launched these five websites all found themselves dealing with death
and grief, and they couldn’t find the answers they were searching for. So, they
came up with their own solutions. Here’s how they can help.
1. Lantern: For assistance managing details and logistics
When
Liz Eddy’s grandmother passed away in 2018, the team at her grandmother’s
nursing home asked her what she wanted to do next. She discovered she was
completely unprepared to manage the process. She muddled through, but thought
that going forward, there should be a better option.
She
turned to Alyssa Ruderman for help, and together the two New York City–based
women founded Lantern, a site that
offers guidance to people before and after the death of a loved one. With
Lantern, you answer four questions and the site creates a free checklist
tailored to your needs. It steps you through funeral planning, writing an
obituary, closing digital accounts, benefits eligibility and more.
2. What’s Your Grief?: For guidance through the grieving process
Everyone
grieves differently, but it can be comforting to learn more about the process
and how other people manage their grief. Litsa Williams and Eleanor Haley,
mental health professionals based in Baltimore with more than 20 years of
experience in grief and bereavement, founded What’s Your Grief? after each of them
lost a parent.
The
site offers a range of free articles covering topics like understanding grief,
memorials, holidays, emotion, and types of grief. You can join ecourses that
cost $50 or less and can help you navigate grief, explore grief through
photography or journaling, and more. The team also hosts live events in
Baltimore, and schedules webinars.
3. Grief Coach: For personalized, ongoing support after loss
Emma
Payne of Seattle founded Grief Coach,
a company that sends personalized text messages for one year for $99.
“I created Grief Coach to
answer the question of ‘I want to help, but don’t know how.’” –Emma Payne
Payne
lost her husband, and then a decade later lost his best friend. “After
delivering the eulogy at my friend’s funeral, I was overwhelmed by the
countless friends and family members who wanted to apologize for not having
been there for me when my husband died. They were afraid, they said, and just
didn’t know what to do. I created Grief Coach to answer the question of ‘I want
to help, but don’t know how,’” she says.
Grief
coach can help a person who is grieving, and can also send tips and reminders
to friends and family. The text messages are delivered twice a week and on
significant dates. They are personalized based on your relationship to the
deceased and the cause of death if you choose to share it.
4. Give InKind: For answering, “Let me know if there’s anything
I can do”
Laura
Malcolm of Seattle founded Give InKind after
her daughter was stillborn. Her friends and family wanted to help, but often
didn’t know what to do. She found herself inundated with flowers. “I was asking
people when they came over to rinse and wash the vases,” she says.
With
Give InKind, you can consolidate a calendar, wishlist, and fundraising site all
in one place, for free. Maybe you need pet care while you travel out of state,
photos gathered to share at a memorial service or money to defray funeral
costs. Your friends and family can access your page and connect with the help
you need. The site is useful for people facing a
health crisis as well as those who are dealing with the loss of
a loved one.
5. LifeWeb 360: For keeping the memories of your loved one alive
Ali
Briggs and Rachele Louis of Chicago founded LifeWeb 360, a multimedia scrapbook that
helps people preserve the memories of a loved one. They were inspired to launch
the site after the death of a friend’s brother — over time, the friend found he
and others were losing their memories of his brother.
On the
site, you can upload photos, videos, voicemails, and texts to your loved one’s
LifeWeb for free. You can invite friends and family members to contribute their
own memories as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment