The Amazing Way Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin's Mom, Is Supporting Her Fellow Grieving Mothers

In the years since her 17-year-old son, Trayvon Martin, was shot dead in 2012, Sybrina Fulton has become a leading activist in the gun violence prevention movement.

But for so many mothers like Fulton, change has come too late — as many as 100 Americans are killed by guns every day, and hundreds more are shot and injured, according to gun safety group Everytown. In response, Fulton created an annual weekend retreat that focuses on bringing companionship, empowerment and understanding to women as they navigate their anguish, just as she did in the days following Trayvon’s death.

The event, called Circle of Mothers and organized by the Trayvon Martin Foundation, kicked off Friday in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and continues through Sunday.

“A lot of times when you’re going through something so tragic, it feels like you’re just alone,” Fulton tells PEOPLE. “It feels like you’re by yourself. So the retreat gives them a sense that somebody else is giving their support, somebody else understands, somebody else can be there to comfort them, because they completely understand because they’re also going through a tragic event in their life.”

Circle of Mothers is provided for free for first-time attendees thanks to contributions. It doesn’t matter whether their child was killed by someone black or white, a man or a woman, or a police officer or civilian, Fulton says, these mothers all feel “the same pain, the same hurt.”

For Fulton, the gathering represents the fulfillment of a dream she had two years after Trayvon was murdered.

“There was nothing in place when I went through my tragedy, no Circle of Mothers when I went,” she explains. “But this program came to me in a dream. I got up and I started writing. It felt like I had already experienced the Circle of Mothers when I woke up. I saw purple, I saw a lot of moms, I saw laughing, crying, hugging, and those are some of the things that I incorporated with what I do now.”

Dozens of women have participated in the retreat since its inception in 2014, and Fulton says while she “still has her bad days,” helping other mourning mothers has allowed her slowly heal from her own emotional wounds.

“It feels good that I’m able to help… I think it kind of takes the pressure off of what I actually would experience if I was not helping people,” she says. “But I still have my days where I cry. I still miss my son. I still … all of those things.”

“Sometimes I have to take a step back and have a beach day, or I have to have a spa day, I have to have an alone day, I have to have a wine day, I have to have a girlfriends’ day, all of those things, just to make sure that I keep things balanced and making sure everything gets moving forward,” she continues. “Because it’s so easy to be sad.”