For the last seven years, she’s been helping people through some of the worst moments of their life by inspiring them to create. It’s a program she’s built “by hand from the ground up” with only her expertise and the help of volunteers and staff at Hospice Wellington she says.

“Nicole has a really special gift, where she can illuminate what’s inside of you with simple things. It’s amazing,” says Jackie Dempsey.

Dempsey came to the art therapy program after losing her sister, the last member of her immediate family.

Dempsey paints one of her pieces during an art therapy session at Hospice Wellington, Brandon Marsh, Provided

"My sister's death wasn't an easy one. It was an 84-day journey of 63 days in hospital and 21 days here. And I was by her side every single day. It was physically, mentally ... everything was spent," she says.

If she didn't have the art therapy program, she says she probably would have just kept going to work and driven herself into a mental breakdown.

During the 12-week program, she met Frances Hammond and Neeru Franceschi.

All three woman were having difficulty functioning because of their grief, despite their paths being very different; Hammond lost her husband last year, while Franceschi lost hers two decades ago.

None of them knew what to expect from the program, and Fantin says that's intentional.

"We're not going to take the path you think we're going to take," she says.

Dempsey remembers being terrified of the first class. She says she's not an artsy person at all.

Fantin says she loves when people like Dempsey come to her sessions.

“Think about never touching art. That is similar to never touching grief. ‘I don't know how to hold this. Can someone help me?’” she says.

Dempsey, Hammond and Franceshi don’t think it’s about the art at all. It’s more about the process of expressing yourself, and the way Fantin can help you realize the thoughts and emotions you’re experiencing.

“There is no amount of talk therapy that would have gotten me there, ever,” says Dempsey.

“It's like, even if these pieces never came home with me, it's being able to create them and know what it did to get me away from a point where I was like, how do I leave the house in the morning?”

But as she worked through the program, she began to feel things being drawn out of her.

"For me, it was very transformational. And it allowed me to express myself in a different way that I just didn't know existed," says Dempsey.

All three women say they remember being startled by the revelations they had while working on their art.

"It was amazing. It was a life changing experience for me. I've been holding on for 20 years to that pain," says Franceshi.

She was able to return to her job, while Hammond no longer dreads getting out of bed in the morning.

Dempsey says she’s unsure if she wants to head back to her job as a bid manager in the tech industry, but she’s started expressing herself through art and writing, something she's never done before.

While it appears to be highly effective, the art program is also highly sought after.

The groups only have room for eight people, and run for 12 weeks. Fantin says she’s hoping to expand the program, as there are only eight others like it in Ontario.

Hospice Wellington offers a wide range of services, from art therapy, to massage, to Reiki, to group walks and more. All of the services are free, and they're open to anyone experiencing grief from the loss of a loved one.

"I hope that everyone experiences a death that brings them to their knees and rocks their world, and makes them look at life a little bit differently. Because that is a privilege. As hard as it is," says Dempsey.