Note of Introduction – Friends of IANDS of Rochester, NY

Note of Introduction -- Upstate NY IANDS (www.unyi.org)

Based on a Gallup poll in 1988 & US News & World Report survey in 1992, it is projected that 5%, or currently over 13 million adults, in the U.S. have had a near death or similar experience. The calculated incidence rate at this level of prevalence is 774 NDE-like experiences per day ( source: www.nderf.org ). There are international studies confirming the relative prevalence statistics found in the U.S. data. Many of these individuals have never described their experience to another person because of fear of ridicule and being labeled mentally ill.

The International Association for Near Death Studies (IANDS) is approaching 30 years of promoting a mission (outlined below) to provide information exchange and support to experiencers, individuals close to experiencers, and concerned practitioners in all related professions (emergency & trauma medicine, nursing, mental health, counseling, hospice, pastoral care, education, research, etc).

A local group, originally referred to as the Rochester / Upstate NY Friends of IANDS (ROCNYFOI) and now renamed Upstate New York IANDS (UNYI) serves the Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo areas and beyond. The goal of the Upstate NY IANDS chapter is to:

- sponsor periodic public presentations and guest speakers (approximately every three months) on topics within the IANDS domain of interest;

- provide referral networks and information resources for supportive care practitioners and counselors;

- coordinate a community of sharing / support groups for experiencers and those close to them;

- organize study groups and advisory committees for local NDE research, publications and educational forums for various community interest groups.

Back to Upstate NY IANDS (UNYI) Home Page

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The Mission and Goals of IANDS

IANDS mission is to build global understanding of near-death and similar experiences through research, education and support. Go to www.iands.org

Our goals are:

To encourage thoughtful exploration of all facets of near-death and similar experiences;
To provide reliable information about near-death and similar experiences to experiencers, caregivers, researchers, and the public;
To serve as a contact point and community for people with particular interest in near-death and similar experiences.

IANDS maintains no party line on the interpretation of near-death or similar experiences and is open to the presentation of varying responsible points of view. The Association is committed to scholarly investigation of the NDE and to providing accurate information based on those findings. IANDS publishes two quarterly periodicals, the scholarly Journal of Near-Death Studies (90Kb) and the newsletter Vital Signs, in addition to other informational materials. It sponsors a national conference in North America annually and other conferences occasionally.