She Brings an Artist’s Perspective and Real Life Grief Experience to the Role
Elske Free Bernt. Courtesy photo.
SANTA BARBARA — Hospice of Santa Barbara is excited to announce Elske Free Bernt has been chosen as the new Volunteer Services Manager. Free Bernt has served the Santa Barbara community for decades both professionally as a design consultant and project manager and through volunteer work. Her volunteer work has included involvement in the Big Sur Education Council, local art projects, and the board of directors at the Big Sur Health Center. This background has uniquely prepared her for coordinating a large volunteer program.
“I have always really had my heart in community service and I have worked as a volunteer in my communities throughout my life,” Free Bernt said. “It’s been my dream to be of service to my community as a job.”
Beyond her professional qualifications for the job, Free Bernt has personal experience with grief. As a child, she watched both her parents deal with the tragic passing of their mothers, years before she was born..
“I was in a house full of grief, but I knew that it wasn’t mine, and because of that, I have a lifetime of practice being with people and holding space. Bringing myself lovingly without taking it on,” Bernt said. “As a result, I’ve always been the person in my friend group that people come to when they’re really sad or struggling with a transition, a death or a loss, because I can safely hold that space and be there for them without trying to bring anything to the space.”
Later in life, she also experienced a serious injury that required two years of rehabilitation to fully recover, leaving her dealing with grief and pain on a daily basis.
“Out of that experience I started an Instagram page and produced several pieces in healing spaces here in Santa Barbara,” Free Bernt said. “The intention of the work is to be very meditative. They’re meant to hold a healing space, like a burning candle might, you know, burn off the energy or hold space to help process a transition.”
Free Bernt’s artwork focuses on natural objects like flowers, ocean and sky scapes,, as well as geometric designs. She uses calming colors and themes in her art, such as a beach scene painted in shades of blue with a yellow-tinted sunset or a video of herself creating a charcoal sketch set to meditative piano music. One piece of art on her Instagram page is a hand-carved blockprint set of affirmation statements which read: “You are love. You are safe. You are seen. You are free.” Throughout her collection, there is a focus on finding peace and calm both from within and from nature.
In August 2023, Free Bernt’s work was showcased at the Santa Barbara Community Arts Workshop in a show titled, “Portals to Joy.”
“The ‘Portals to Joy’ show is a selection of works inspired by my desire to actively cultivate joy in my life,” Free Bernt’s gallery description reads. “Spanning the seven years since moving to Santa Barbara, my connection to these works and their creation process gave me hope and deeply supported my mental health through times when I needed it most. The lessons of my years in Santa Barbara have shown me that there is so much joy to be harvested around us all the time, it is up to us to make the choice to look for it and reach out and grab it.”
Free Bernt plans to utilize these philosophies in her new role at Hospice of Santa Barbara where she is in charge of a program of 115 volunteers. These volunteers attend a six-week training consisting of six 3-hour sessions, followed by a commitment to serve two hours per week for a minimum of one year of service. The level of commitment reflects the nature of a role where trust and regularity is critical.
“You’re introducing someone to people who are either battling or succumbing to a life-threatening illness, and it’s a really vulnerable place,” Free Bernt said. “And you want to have people who are not only prepared for that, and also bring the consistency that is such a huge part of support.”
The program is popular and growing. In the most recent round of applications, 40 people applied for 15 spots. This, Free Bernt said, is indicative of the great amount of community support for the hospice program. The current cohort is unusually young, with volunteers in their 20s, 40s, 50s, and early 60s. In the past, the majority of volunteers have been retirees.
Hospice of Santa Barbara provides professional counseling, support groups, and patient care services free of charge to individuals and families who are grieving the death of a loved one or experiencing the impact of a life-threatening illness. Hospice of Santa Barbara also provides counseling in our offices and on 17 local elementary, junior high, and high school campuses to children and teens who are grieving the loss of a loved one.
For more information about Hospice of Santa Barbara, the Legacy of Compassion campaign or Hospice video testimonials call (805) 563-8820 or visit www.hospiceofsb.org