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 | 1st Tues each month,
5:30-7:30 pm (meal provided) |
Palmetto Baptist Hospital
Private Dining Room Taylor @ Marion St, Columbia SC |
Peggy Copulsky or Karen Brazell
803-296-3100 or 800-238-1884 |
| Southern Care Support Group | Adults | 2nd Tues of month
2:00 pm |
720 Gracern Rd, Ste 122
Columbia SC |
Patrick Plunkett
803-750-9600 |
| Widows of Opportunity | Women | Last Tues of each month
7:00 pm |
Long Creek Church of Christ
720 Longtown Rd Columbia SC |
Kimberly Richardson
803-788-7997 www.widowsofopportunity.com |
| Overcomers
(For Widows) |
Adults | 2nd and 4th Tues of month
5:30-7:30 pm |
Fellowship Baptist Church
Lexington SC |
Anne Watson
803-791-5849 |
| Young Widows Group | Adults | Individual support, not a group | Call for information | Jackie Linder
803-345-5938 |
| Gleaners for Life
(Widows/Widowers) |
Adults | 3rd Fri of month
6:30-8:30 pm |
Call for information | Jackie Fleshman
803-788-2969 or 803-622-4464 |
| Good Grieving | Adults
Children |
Registration Required
Call for dates and times |
Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital
Medical Park 7 Columbia SC |
Lynne Bridges
803-434-4566 |
| Brett’s Rainbow Bereavement Camp | Adults
Children Teens |
Registration Required
Call for dates and times |
Westwood High School
Blythewood SC |
Peggy Copulsky or Karen Brazell
803-296-3100 or 800-238-1884 |
| From Grief to Joy | Adults | 3rd Tues each month
7:00-8:30 pm |
Emmanuel Baptist Fellowship
4766 Sunset Blvd West Columbia SC |
Linda Gill
803-407-3185 or 803-413-2199 www.joyinthemourning.com |
| LMC-Chaplain’s Office Support Group | Adults | 1st Thurs of each month
7:00 pm |
Lexington Medical Center, Granby Rm
2720 Sunset Blvd West Columbia SC |
Gloria Shull
803-791-2901 |
| Journeys | Adults | 1st Sat each month
10:15-11:30 am |
The Waterford at Columbia
9370 Windsor Lake Blvd Columbia SC |
Emma Riley |
| Suicide or Homicide | ||||
| Program | Audience | Date/Time | Place | Contact |
| Survivors of Suicide | Adults | 1st Tues 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 Tues each month
6:00-8:00 pm |
Washington Street United Methodist Church
1401 Washington St 3rd Floor Youth Room Columbia SC
|
Marvin Bryant
803-414-4491 |
| Grieving the Death of a Child | ||||
| Program | Audience | Date/Time | Place | Contact |
| Wee Remember
(Pregnancy & Very early infant loss) |
Adults | 4th Tues 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 |
| When the Bough Breaks
(Late pregnancy loss; Loss of young children) |
Adults | 2nd Tues each month
7:00-8:30 pm |
2220 Lake Murray Blvd
Columbia SC |
Linda Gill
803-407-3185 or 803-413-2199 www.joyinthemourning.com |
| Memories
(Pregnancy loss) |
Adults | 2nd Thurs of 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 Thurs of 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 Thurs of month
6:30 pm |
110 E DeKalb St, United Way Bldg
Camden SC |
Cheryl Jones
803-432-0740 cheryltjones@live.com www.compassionatefriends.org |
| Healing Grief Using Art | ||||
| Grief HeART Art | Adults | Call for Information | Columbia Metro Baptist Association | Dr. Delores Gulledge
803-730-2220 or 803-252-0116 www.artsasmedicine.com |
| Art of Coping with Loss | Adults | 4th Tues of month
6:30-8:00 pm |
Vive Church
2630 Clemson Rd Columbia SC |
Dr. Delores Gulledge
803-730-2220 or 803-252-0116 |
| Arts as Medicine
(Healing the Heart with God & the Arts) |
Adults | Call for Information | 1929 Gadsden St
Columbia SC |
Dr. Delores Gulledge
803-730-2220 or 803-252-0116 www.artsasmedicine.com |
GriefShare Support Listings
(Please contact individual church for information and schedule)
Saxe Gotha Presbyterian Church
5503 Sunset Blvd, Lexington SC
803-359-7770; www.saxegotha.org
St Andrews Presbyterian Church
6952 St Andrews Rd, Irmo SC;
803-732-2273; www.sapc.net
First Baptist Church of Lexington
412 Barr Rd, Lexington SC
803-957-0686; www.fblex.org
St Peters Lutheran Church
1130 St Peters Rd, Lexington SC
803-359-2470; www.stpeterslex.com
Ashland United Methodist
2600 Ashland Rd, Columbia SC
803-798-5350; www.ashlandumc.com
Shandon Baptist Church
5250 Forest Dr, Columbia SC
803-782-1300, ext 121; www.shandon.org
Riverland Hills Baptist Church
201 Lake Murray Blvd, Irmo SC
803-772-3227; www.riverlandhills.org
