Full Circle Grief Center

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Richmond, VA
Full Circle Grief Center

Central Virginia's comprehensive grief and bereavement resource. The risk is high for that family to break apart.

Full Circle Grief Center was founded in 2008 in response to the great need in Central Virginia to help families who had experienced the death of someone they loved – most often a father or spouse. Those families and their at-risk children were too often grieving in isolation without support – and often did not have the funds to pursue private counseling or other forms of grief support. Our program

s have touched more than 9,000 lives. Our goals are to help grieving individuals:

• Increase communication with family members so families stay together in grief
• Learn coping skills to deal with traumatic events and grief
• Build support networks to reduce isolation
• Heal through creative expression

Full Circle is very unique in its approach to bereavement care:

- We combine professionally-designed grief support programs with creative expression in the form of art, music, play, dance and journaling to trigger discussions that may not have occurred otherwise.

- We are the only organization in Richmond to provide bereavement groups for extended families along with age-appropriate groups simultaneously. Families learn to grieve together rather than in isolation.

- We are also the only organization in Richmond to provide bereavement support to underserved students at their inner-city school. The need is so high that we are focusing our efforts on traumatic death. We rely 100% on the community to provide these services free of charge to all participants through our three main programs:

Counseling Groups for Families:
• Hands On Healing for children ages 3-18 and their families.
• Perinatal Loss Group for parents who are grieving the death of a baby.
• Suicide Loss Group for adults and school-aged children grieving a loss by suicide. Outreach Groups for Underserved At-Risk Youth at:
• Inner-city schools
• Community partner sites: ChildSavers, Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, etc.
• Richmond City Police Department (Homicide Support Group)

Grief Education:
• Bereavement training for local professionals and community members
• Published the area’s first and only comprehensive grief resource manual

09/04/2026

Friendly reminder that our offices will be closed for the upcoming Labor Day holiday on September 7. 💙

Please feel free to contact us at [email protected] with any questions regarding individual counseling appointments, services, or other needs you may have. 📩

Thank you! 💙

09/02/2026

Congratulations to our many team members at Full Circle who are celebrating their staff anniversary this month! 🎉

Allyson Drake | Founder and Executive Director | 18 years

Karen Kennedy | Senior Manager, Su***de Bereavement Services | 5 years

Jillian Carpenter | Therapist and Group Leader | 5 years

From our group leaders, individual therapists, administrative and clinical teams, we couldn't do it without you! 💙

08/31/2026

In recognition of August 31 as International Overdose Awareness Day, we're re-sharing this timely article about guilt, shame, and counterfactual thinking from our Overdose Bereavement Services Manager, Laura McDonald, LCSW. 💜

"Many survivors feel paralyzed by a profound sense of guilt for not being able to save the one they loved. They ruminate on every decision and discussion ever had regarding substance use and addiction, every action taken and not taken. If only they had managed to make the right decisions, be more patient, more strict, more giving, less giving, perhaps their loved one would still be here. After a death caused by overdose, the end can be seen as an inevitable train wreck that somehow they could and should have been able to control. So what can we do to possibly address this crippling cycle of pain?"

Read more in her blog post below or our link in bio. 🔗
https://fullcirclegc.org/2025/09/30/guilt-shame-and-counterfactual-thinking/

08/30/2026

National Grief Awareness Day occurs annually on August 30. 💙 For this occasion, we're sharing several blogs, articles, and other resources that highlight ways that grieving folks can find kindness and compassion for themselves. Check out our list below, or browse our resource library. 🦋

💙 Resources for National Grief Awareness Day 💙

Full Circle Blog | Patience and Grace During Your Grief Journey
https://fullcirclegc.org/2023/02/06/patience-and-grace-during-your-grief-journey/

Full Circle Blog | Taking A Moment, Together
https://fullcirclegc.org/2023/09/29/taking-a-moment-together/

What's Your Grief | How Normalization and Validation Help in Grief
https://whatsyourgrief.com/how-normalization-and-validation-help-in-grief/

Conversations About Grief | Continuing Bonds (Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa7K-dFohgI

08/27/2026

Calling all volunteers! 📣 Do you want to get involved with Full Circle? Check out our information below about upcoming interest meetings for our new committees!

We are looking for event-minded folks to help us maximize the impact and reach of our upcoming special events for 2026 and 2027. This includes community favorites such as Living Your Dash, our Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Candle Lighting, and our Holiday Circle of Remembrance Candle Lighting events, and more!

Join us for one of our two interest meetings: Monday, September 14 at 6:00 pm at our new office (5511 Staples Mill Road, Suite 301) and Tuesday, September 15 at 12:00 pm (noon) on Zoom. RSVP to Allison Schooley, Director of Operations and Development at [email protected].

Can't make a meeting? Please reach out to us anyway! We would love to expand our volunteer network. 💙

08/25/2026

🍂 Fall Support Groups Starting Soon 🍂

Registration for our next session of grief support groups for Fall 2026 is already underway. We have several groups available this session, including Perinatal Loss Group, Su***de Loss Group, Overdose and Substance Use Related Loss Group, Spouse and Partner Loss Group, and the return of our Hands on Healing Family Groups. 💙

If you, or someone you know, may be interested in joining a group for fall, please register early as space is limited. More information about groups can be found on our website at the link below or our link in bio. 🔗

Support Groups
https://fullcirclegc.org/support-groups/

08/19/2026

It's here! After a few months of dedication from our fantastic program and clinical staff, we have gathered the data and pulled together our story for 2025. 🫶

We are super excited to share the facts and findings of our work last year in our Program Report, available now for viewing on our website. See more below or at our link in bio.🎉

Learn more about Full Circle, the impact we had in our community last year, and our data-driven outcomes for providing professional and comprehensive grief support. 💙

🔗 Full Circle's 2025 Program Report
https://fullcirclegc.org/annual-report

08/17/2026

Join our latest Conversations About Grief episode, where we interview our Overdose Bereavement Services Manager, Laura McDonald, LCSW, as she explains the four factors that make a loss from overdose or addiction challenging, especially from a parental point of view. Now available on our YouTube channel or linked on our website. 🔗

Four Factors of Overdose Loss | Conversations About Grief
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8sKvkL271g

*****

Welcome to our Conversations About Grief series. These videos feature a number of pre-recorded educational programs, all hosted by Full Circle professionals, with the goal of increasing the community conversation about death, dying, and loss. 💙

The Conversations About Grief modality changed from live virtual workshops to pre-recorded content in an effort to make the material offered more accessible and available to clients and families who are grieving. Since 2023, topical videos created by Full Circle’s clinical team members are posted on our YouTube channel. 💙

*****

For more about Conversations About Grief, visit our library at https://fullcirclegc.org/conversations-about-grief

or our website at https://fullcirclegc.org/

💙

08/13/2026

🕯️ Pregnancy and Infant Loss Event 🕯️ Save the date for our Pregnancy and Infant Loss Candle Lighting Event on October 15, held for the first time at The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen.

This year brings the same sense of community you expect from Full Circle, plus a robust event with new traditions and experiences for participants. 💙

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day
Thursday, October 15, 2026
The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen
2880 Mountain Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060

RSVP information coming soon. 🔗

Sponsorship opportunities are available for interested community partners. Please reach out to Allison Schooley at [email protected] or 804-912-2947 for more information. 📩

08/10/2026

As we reflect on the past contributions of our board members, we want to take a moment to express our deepest appreciation to our exiting board member, Russell "Rusty" Ramsey, for his unwavering commitment and exceptional leadership.

Rusty's six (you read that, six!) years of service at Full Circle have been an invaluable asset to all of us, especially in the ways he championed efficiency and process, taking up many projects in our mission of serving grieving folks in Virginia.

His dedication to the staff, clients, and community served by Full Circle has undoubtedly left us a stronger organization than when we started. Thank you, Rusty, for your service and advocacy! 💙

Address

5511 Staples Mill Road, Suite 301
Richmond, VA
23228

Website

http://fullcirclegc.org/

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