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Most people in the Sea to Sky corridor have heard of the hospice in passing. Fewer know just how much of it runs on the quiet dedication of volunteers, or how wide its reach actually is. Stretching from D’Arcy to Lions Bay, the Sea to Sky Hospice Society serves communities across the corridor with more than 80 volunteers and a range of programs that go well beyond end-of-life care.
Among those volunteers is Grace Crosby, whose work offers a window into why the hospice matters so much to the people who give their time to it.
Grace Crosby moved to Squamish during the pandemic. With a background in counseling, art and personal experience with significant loss, she found herself drawn to the hospice almost immediately. What she built there is unlike anything the organization had offered before.
“Art Exploration for Grief and Loss” runs on Thursday evenings at the 55+ Activity Centre in Squamish. Crosby and her assistant arrive an hour early, covering tables in plastic, laying out brushes and paints, and arranging an 18-by-24-inch piece of paper at each spot. By six o’clock, the group gathers in what Crosby calls a sharing circle.
From there, participants learn how line and colour can carry emotion before being let loose on the large paper. Some paint slowly, soothing themselves with the movement of a single colour across the page. Others rip and tear. Some recreate a specific memory, others go entirely abstract. Crosby and her assistant work alongside them, not watching over shoulders but making art of their own.
“Some people are frozen, and this helps them get in touch with their grief. Some are exploring it, and others, it’s a break from it,” Crosby said. “It can be any of those three, or it changes each time they come.”
After about 40 minutes of quiet art-making, the group reconvenes. Each person shares what came up for them. Others respond to what they see. The session closes with a simple question: what few words describe how you feel right now?
The program runs four or five sessions at a time, using prompts drawn from a book called “Drawing on Your Grief.” Future sessions incorporate poetry, song lyrics, found objects and simple clay work. Crosby has seen people of all ages come through, from young adults to grandmothers, carrying losses ranging from parents and partners to children. Classes are capped at around eight people because of the depth of sharing involved.
For Crosby, the work is personal. She suffered a loss in what she describes as tragic circumstances, and the program is in part a way of honoring that experience. “I wish I’d had this when I was going through it,” she said. “You never stop grieving. It just changes.”
The program is free and open to anyone in the community. Crosby said that while participants may start without knowing anybody, “By the end, we’re not, we’re, we’re not strangers at all.”
Another program the hospice runs is bereavement walks. There are regularly scheduled walks in Squamish and Whistler. The walks are led by volunteers and are open to anyone moving through loss, whether that grief has already arrived or is still approaching.
Jackie Fulton, a volunteer and board member with the hospice, helps facilitate walks in Whistler and describes the premise simply: a nature walk, then tea or coffee, and space to feel a little less alone. “Everyone goes through some type of grief at some point,” she said. “It’s just listening to people and letting them know they’re not alone.”
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Fulton came to the hospice the way many volunteers do, through a combination of personal loss and a friend’s recommendation. Her father spent time in a hospice in Ontario about 14 years ago. When a friend’s father later passed away at the Sea to Sky facility, her name was put forward to the board. She joined and hasn’t looked back.
Her background has nothing to do with medicine; she spent her career in hospitality and tourism in Whistler. But she sees the work as a natural extension of something she has always valued: community, purpose, and caring about people.
“Now that I’m retired, I try to give back a bit more. I think it’s important to have a sense of purpose,” Fulton said.
As a board member, Fulton sits on the finance and fundraising committees, helping ensure the hospice has the resources to keep running.
The hospice’s 80 or so volunteers hold a variety of roles, from running caregiver support groups to holding grief and loss conversations. Some work in patients’ homes, sitting with those who are dying or supporting their families during this time. Those volunteers complete around 30 hours of training before taking on that role.
The hospice receives limited government funding. The majority of its operating dollars come from community support, including its signature annual fundraiser.
This May marks the 20th annual Hike for Hospice, where residents can sign up for a team or make a donation. The month-long campaign wraps up with a celebration on May 30th at Junction Park in Squamish, running from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The funds raised go directly toward support programs for those facing end-of-life, their caregivers, and those navigating grief. Details and registration are available on the hospice’s website.
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