Support Meetings

Please note that during the Covid-19 pandemic, we will not be holding in-person support meetings. All of our support meetings will be held online, via video conferencing site Zoom, for the next few months in response to the Ministry of Health's directives around avoiding contact and the spread of the virus.

Our next meeting, the Kapiti Coast support meeting, takes place on Wednesday 25th March from 7:30-9:00pm. Here is the message we posted on our Facebook page:

In light of the increasing restrictions in our community and the increasing numbers of people infected with Covid-19, we are sorry to say we won't be holding our Kapiti support meeting in person next Wednesday 25th March.

We will, however, be offering a support meeting via Zoom (video conferencing) and invite you to participate in this different way. Life is going to look very different for all of us over the coming months, and we hope to continue to provide support to you all through the marvels of technology!
We won't be sharing the Zoom link publicly, instead we invite you to contact us either by message through this page, email (sandswgtnhutt@gmail.com) or phone/text (022-3983917) and we'll send the link to you. If you do not have a computer or a computer with a camera, you can still join the support meeting on your phone.

Thanks, we look forward to connecting with you and talking about your precious baby or child, your grief, and your experience of navigating the months and years ahead, in this new way.


We'll be updating details on this page and on our FB page - please feel very welcome to join us online. It will feel different but we'll make it as comfortable as possible.

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Our support meetings are unstructured and welcoming. We often describe them as a cuppa and a chat (that's why we've chosen those pictures above). You can make contact prior to the meeting or you can just arrive - we prefer you to do whatever feels best for you. You will always have the opportunity to talk about your baby and your experience at a support meeting; you also have the option of simply listening. Many parents comment that they appreciate meeting other bereaved parents who have walked a similar path and just 'get it'. You are welcome to bring along photos and mementos of your baby or infant to the meetings. We have mums and dads coming along to meetings, as well as grandparents and other family members, but the majority of participants are parents. Meetings take place every month apart from January. Please feel free to come along and meet us and other bereaved parents in your community.

Due to the nature of our meetings, they are for adults only - unfortunately we do not have childcare facilities available.


Johnsonville meetings:
Support meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month at the Plunket Centre in Rotoiti St, Johnsonville. Meetings start from 7:30pm and finish at 10:00pm (though you can leave earlier, we often break for a cuppa at 9:00pm and those that need to leave earlier do so then). There are car parks in the front of the building.

Why do we have meetings in Plunket rooms? Sometimes we are asked this question and we understand it may seem like a strange place for a Sands meeting. Plunket in Wellington have been very supportive of Sands for over 20 years and we value our relationship. They provided us with a free venue for many, many years and now only charge us a small fee in their new premises. The new Plunket Rooms have a very small number of images and information about babies in their reception and the room we hold meetings in has nothing at all featured about babies, it's a very neutral space.

Support meetings in Johnsonville in 2020 will be held on these dates:

Wednesday 5th February
Wednesday 4th March
Wednesday 1st April
Wednesday 6th May
Wednesday 3rd June
Wednesday 1st July
Wednesday 5th August
Wednesday 2nd September
Wednesday 7th October
Wednesday 4th November
Wednesday 2nd December


Lower Hutt meetings:
Support meetings are held on the third Wednesday of the month at the Alicetown Community Centre, 38 Victoria St, Alicetown, Lower Hutt. Meetings start from 7:30pm and finish at 10:00pm (like Johnsonville, you can leave earlier if you wish). The last support meeting in 2019 in Lower Hutt is on Wednesday 18th December.

Support meetings in Lower Hutt in 2020 will be held on these dates:

Wednesday 19th February
Wednesday 18th March
Wednesday 15th April
Wednesday 20th May
Wednesday 17th June
Wednesday 15th July
Wednesday 19th August
Wednesday 16th September
Wednesday 21st October
Wednesday 18th November
Wednesday 16th December


Kapiti Coast Meetings:
We will hold quarterly (every 3 months) meetings in Paraparaumu in 2020. The meetings run from 7:30-9:30pm, at the Kapiti Impact Hub, 6 Tongariro Street, Paraparaumu. The dates are:

Wednesday 25th March
Wednesday 24th June
Wednesday 16th September
Wednesday 9th December