C.A.R.E. Team Mission

Updated on February 10, 2020

The Richland County Coroner’s Office will support and provide comfort to surviving family members and their friends through a partnership with area ministers and grief counselors.

The C.A.R.E. Team was the vision of Coroner Gary Watts when he was initially elected as Richland County Coroner in 2001.  He wanted the Richland County Coroner’s Office to be something more than the death notification agency.  The C.A.R.E. Team concept was born out of memories of a neighbor helping a neighbor.  In today’s world neighbors may not know each other; may be at work; may be out of town; or may be unwilling to get involved.

C.A.R.E. is an acronym for Community Awareness Resources Education.

Community:

The importance of community involvement cannot be overstated. The Coroner and his deputies regularly attend community meetings and participate in community activities. Direct contact with the citizens of Richland County enables the community to have a voice.

Awareness:

Awareness is the first step in the process of prevention. The coroner’s Office helps to prevent injuries and death by directing attention to specific health and safety issues.

Response:

Following the loss of a loved one, emotional support is extremely important. The Coroner’s Office has established a partnership with area ministries and grief counselors to support and provide comfort to surviving family members and their friends.

Education:

The Coroner is dedicated to community education. Issues related to health, safety, and career development are discussed in area schools and other community settings. Flexible teaching styles paired with varied subject matter allow the Coroner and his deputies to connect with Richland County’s diverse community.

C.A.R.E. is an acronym for Community Awareness Resources Education. 

The C.A.R.E. Team is composed of compassionate caring volunteers who are willing to reach out into the community to someone they do not know – offering a kind word and a caring presence when a family member receives notification of a death from our office.

In South Carolina it is the Coroner’s Office who notifies the next of kin of a death.  With the C.A.R.E. Team a volunteer is on call to accompany the Deputy Coroner who notifies family of a death.  A volunteer also may follow-up with a family contact within a few days or weeks after initial notification.

The concept of the C.A.R.E. Team is to have a volunteer available to be with a family. The volunteer helps fill in the gap in that short period of time between the delivery of death notification and the activation of the family’s personal support system.

C.A.R.E. Team volunteers offer support and emotional first aid that may include:

• Bringing a calming presence to survivors
• Helping contact and convene other family, friends and community support
• Helping survivors know the next steps
• Suggesting ways for survivors to care for themselves and one another
• Providing information and resources on frequently asked questions

The C.A.R.E. Team sponsors a Holiday Memorial and Remembrance Gathering near the end of each year.  Volunteers are invited to attend county burials to be with family and friends of the deceased.

There is a formal application and orientation process for C.A.R.E. Team volunteers.  This process includes periodic training opportunities; continuing education in crisis care; understanding of crisis reactions, response and grief care.

We encourage other Coroners and counties in South Carolina to offer volunteer outreach to citizens served by their offices.  We offer consultation and leadership in C.A.R.E. Team development to Coroner’s throughout the state.  Most recently we have been in conversation with York, Lexington, Orangeburg, and Hampton counties who are in various stages of C.A.R.E. Team development and implementation.

Dr. Delores Gulledge, Thanatologist served as a volunteer team member for the first five years of the life of the C.A.R.E. Team.  In 2005 she joined the Coroner-Medical Examiner staff as a Deputy Coroner to coordinate the volunteer C.A.R.E. Team.  After the death of her own daughter, Dr. Dee added additional academic credentials to her personal experience. She focused on providing education and grief crisis comfort care for family and friends who experience the death of a loved one.

Contact Dr. Gulledge at 803-576-1799 or by gulledged@rcgov.us for additional information about the C.A.R.E. Team.

Grief Support Group: Finding Hope Putting the Pieces Together.

Fourth Tuesday of the month 6:30 PM-7:30PM at Vive Church 2630 Clemson Rd Columbia, SC 29229.

Contributing Photographer: Alex Potash, Columbia, South Carolina.

---

COLUMBIA AREA BEREAEMENT SUPPORT GROUPS AND PROGRAMS

Death of loved one

Program	Audience	Date/Time	Place	Contact
Pathfinders – Columbia	Adults	1 st Tuesday each month 5:30-7:30 pm (meal provided)	Palmetto Baptist Hospital Private Dining Room Taylor @ Marion St. Columbia SC	Drew Royall 803-296-3100 or 800-238-1884 drew.royall@palmettohealth.org
Pathfinders – Columbia Day Group	Adults	1st Monday each month 2:00-3:00 pm	Lourie Center, 1650 Park Circle, Columbia SC	Drew Royall 803-296-3100 or 800-238-1884
Pathfinders – Newberry Sponsored by Palmetto Health Hospice	Adults	2nd Tuesday each month 3:00-4:00 Last Thursday each month 5:30-6:30 pm	1400 Camellia Ave. Newberry, SC	Erin Mills or Charles Pollock 803-405-0808 or 800-518-5175
Journeys	Adults	1st Saturday each month 10:15-11:30 am	The Waterford at Columbia 9370 Windsor Lake Blvd Columbia SC	803-771-0489
Good Grieving	Adults Children Teens	Registration Required Call for dates and times	Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital Medical Park 7 Columbia SC	Kimberly Few 803-434-4566
Widows of Opportunity	Women	Last Tuesday of each month 7:00 pm	Long Creek Church of Christ 720 Longtown Rd Columbia SC	Kimberly Richardson 803-788-7997 widowsofopportunity.com
“A New Road” Bereavement Seminar for Widowed Persons	Adults	Registration Required Call for dates and times	Camp Kinard Batesburg-Leesville	Dee Camp 864-706-6596 deesc@me.com Ann Simon 706-910-7534
From Grief to Joy	Adults	3rd Tuesday each month 7:00-8:30 pm	Lexington Baptist Church, Family Life Ctr 308 E. Main Street Lexington SC 29072	Rob Celey 803-251-2287 or 803-800-4930
LMC-Chaplain’s Office Support Group	Adults	1st Thursday each month 7:00 pm	Lexington Medical Center, GranbyRm 2720 Sunset Blvd West Columbia SC	Gloria Shull 803-791-2901

Suicide or Homicide

Program	Audience	Date/Time	Place	Contact
Survivors of Suicide	Adults	1st Tuesday each month 7:00-8:30 pm	Westminster Presbyterian Church Columbia SC	Kathy Neeley 803-356-2874
Parents of Murdered Children & Other Survivors of Homicide	Adults	3rd Tuesday each month 6:00-8:00 pm	Washington Street United Methodist Church 1401 Washington St 3rd Floor Youth Room, Columbia	Stephanie Greene 803-238-0159
G.R.A.S.P. – Grief Recovery After a Substance Passing	Adults	Every Other Wednesday at 6pm	860 Park Road Lexington, SC 29072	Mary Lynn Fulmer 803-269-2696 MLFULMER1@gmail.com

Grieving the Death of a Child

Program	Audience	Date/Time	Place	Contact
Wee Remember (Pregnancy & Very early infant loss)	Adults	4th Tuesday each month 6:30-8:00 pm	Palmetto Health Basement Seminar Room 1501 Sumter St Columbia SC	Rosalee Blair 803-296-5636 or 803-296-5580
Memories (Pregnancy loss)	Adults	2nd Thursday each month 7:00-8:15 pm	Lexington Medical Center North Entrance Outpatient Registration Area	Corrine Barbian 803-783-1003 Ext 3 www.clbarbian@msn.com
Naomi’s Circle (Pregnancy, Infant Loss, and Pregnancy after a loss)	Adults	2nd Thursday each month 6:30-7:45 pm	Spring Valley Baptist 91 Polo Rd Columbia SC	Kristi Bothur 803-728-1162 www.naomiscircle@gmal.com
Compassionate Friends of the Midlands	Adults	1st Thursday each month 6:30 pm	First Presbyterian Church 1420 Lady St, Suite 202 Palmer Ministry, Columbia, SC	Irene Stern 803-735-3010 ims@sc.rr.com

Grieving the Death of a Child

Program	Audience	Date/Time	Place	Contact
Wee Remember (Pregnancy & Very early infant loss)	Adults	4th Tuesday each month 6:30-8:00 pm	Palmetto Health Basement Seminar Room 1501 Sumter St Columbia SC	Rosalee Blair 803-296-5636 or 803-296-5580
Memories (Pregnancy loss)	Adults	2nd Thursday each month 7:00-8:15 pm	Lexington Medical Center North Entrance Outpatient Registration Area	Corrine Barbian 803-783-1003 Ext 3 www.clbarbian@msn.com
Naomi’s Circle (Pregnancy, Infant Loss, and Pregnancy after a loss)	Adults	2nd Thursday each month 6:30-7:45 pm	Spring Valley Baptist 91 Polo Rd Columbia SC	Kristi Bothur 803-728-1162 www.naomiscircle@gmal.com
Compassionate Friends of the Midlands	Adults	1st Thursday each month 6:30 pm	First Presbyterian Church 1420 Lady St, Suite 202 Palmer Ministry, Columbia, SC	Irene Stern 803-735-3010 ims@sc.rr.com

Program	Audience	Date/Time	Place	Contact
Art & Play Therapy Center of SC	Teens Children	Call for Information	5115 Forest Drive, Suite D, Columbia, SC	Lyssa Harvey 803-920-0707 lyssa@lyssaharvey.com
Art of Coping with Loss Sponsor: Dunbar Northeast	Adults	4th Tuesday each month 6:30-8:00 pm	Vive Church 2630 Clemson Rd Columbia SC 29229	Dr. Delores Gulledge 803-730-2220 or 803-788-6310 FaceBk Arts as Medicine
Art of Coping with Loss Sponsor: Dunbar Dutch Fork/Irmo	Adults	4th Thursday each month 6:30-8:00 pm	Leeza’s Care Connection 201 St. Andrews Road Columbia, SC 29210	Dr. Delores Gulledge 803-730-2220 or 803-732-2211 FaceBk Arts as Medicine

---

Grief Share Support Listings: 
Please contact individual churches for schedule and additional information