About Us

First Hour Grief Response, Inc. was founded with the desire to provide hope and guidance on what to do when someone you love passes unexpectedly. It was born out of our own experiences in facing the days, weeks and months that followed our loss. There were so many decisions we had to make, in a very short period of time, after our loved one passed. And then came the weeks where all we wanted to do was be awakened from the nightmare and feel normal again. And day-after-day we had to find a way to put one foot in front of the other and figure out how to navigate this thing called grief.

We have been through this and we are here to help you. 

When you’re ready, we recommend meeting with a grief coach to talk about what you are feeling. Since grief is unique to the relationship that you had with the deceased, there is no roadmap for how to process what you are feeling inside. Meeting with someone who “gets” where you are can help provide perspective and coping skills. Most people come to First Hour within a week or two following their loss.

Recovering from grief does take some work. It’s not going to happen overnight. It’s heavy and messy and the best thing you can do is face it head-on and get help. Grief left unresolved can lead to a lot of potentially bad choices in the future.

Please use our Contact Us form to ask for more information about grief coaching options or call (502) 791-9938. We now have two locations to serve you: 409 Marquette Drive (In Lyndon) and 3407 Ralph Avenue (Just off Cane Run Road). All meetings are by appointment only.

Our mission is to provide compassionate guidance for people who have suffered the sudden loss of a loved one.

Our vision is that grief is understood by everyone and that griever’s learn coping skills for life moving forward.


The Founders of First Hour Grief Response are committed to living out our faith in Jesus Christ.  We provide a safe and caring atmosphere where anyone, regardless of their beliefs, can find refuge and compassion for their grief journey. Holding firm to our own commitments, we reach out to all whose lives have been forever altered by loss. With compassion and understanding, we provide a place where anyone can wrestle with seemingly impossible questions and do our best to represent the love and hope that we have found in our relationship with the living God. 

Our Founders

Karen Cropped 2022

Karen Buchanan is a founding member of FHGR, Inc. She has struggled with several deep losses in her life. Her parents both passed away from battles with cancer at the ages of 51 and 73.  Her husband took his own life at the age of 50. The experiences of losing both parents and a husband forced her to face the challenges and questions that grief sets into motion.

Read Full Story…

Legal Assistance, Grief Groups Louisville KY

Lisa Schardein is also a founding member and former Executive Director (for five years) of FHGR, Inc. Lisa is no stranger to grief. In 2006, her brother Philip, at the young age of 42 suffered a major heart attack and died leaving behind an 18 year old son, Adam, who was just graduating from high school. Her father passed away in 2013 at the age of 82 from cancer. And the most devastating loss of life imaginable came when her 19 year old son, Ben, was killed by a drunk driver in June of 2011.

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Be a Coach

If you’ve ever experienced a sudden or unexpected death of a loved one, you might be able to use that experience to help others. If you make it past the interview, we’ll provide training (usually a day’s worth) and then you would shadow one of our current coaches for about three months to make sure you’re comfortable enough to go out on your own. This is a contract position and no license is necessary. To schedule an interview, please email Vachel Owens.

First Hour Grief Response - programs - couple holding hands

Be a Mentor

First Hour Grief Response - programs - couple holding hands

If you’ve ever experienced a sudden or unexpected death of a loved one, you might be able to use that experience to help others. If you make it past the interview, we’ll provide training (usually a day’s worth) and then you would shadow one of our current mentors for about three months to make sure you’re comfortable enough to go out on your own. This is a contract position and no license is necessary. To schedule an interview, please email Lisa Schardein.

Our Board

Sharon Kerrick, PhD

Assistant VP - Digital Transformation Center (DTC) Associate Professor - Human Resource Organizational Development (HROD) University of Louisville

Karen Buchanan- Board Chair

Co-Founder & Development Volunteer

Clark Spader - Treasurer

Sr. Director Accounting & Process Improvements Papa John’s International, Inc.

Pastor David Thomas

Greater New Beginnings Church

Gordon Dabney

Retired Financial Executive

Vaughn Bell, MDiv, CEI

Senior Vice President, Growth Strategy Speranza Therapeutics

Your Name Here!

Now accepting applications for new board members. Email: Lisa@FirstHourGrief.org

Delene E. Taylor, CPA, CGMA​

Executive Director Rotary Club of Louisville​

Burdette Park, CPFA

Senior Vice President, Investments Raymond James & Associates, Inc.