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Support Meetings
October /November 2021 in-person support meetings -
We will be holding one meeting per month in October and November in Johnsonville, so Wednesday October 6th and Wednesday November 3rd our meetings will take place. This means we will have NO HUTT VALLEY MEETINGS for October & November. We apologise for any inconvenience this might cause.
Please email us on sandswgtnhutt@gmail.com or text us on 022-3983917 if you have any questions.
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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'.
Our support meetings are for all bereaved parents, families and whānau, no matter when or how your baby died, at what gestation or age. We might offer different meetings if we had the people power to do so (perhaps early loss, termination/induction of pregnancy, newborn/neonatal death, infant/toddler loss) but that's just not an option right now. So we invite all bereaved parents to join us - this means you will be sitting with parents who have had similar experiences, and some who have had vastly different experiences to you. However, we all know the experience of great love and grief for our children and we hold everyone's experience of loss with respect, aroha and compassion.
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.
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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 9:30pm (though you can leave earlier, we often break for a cuppa 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 2021 will be held on these dates:
Wednesday 3rd March
Wednesday 7th April
Wednesday 5th May
Wednesday 2nd June
Wednesday 7th July
Wednesday 4th August
Wednesday 1st September
Wednesday 6th October
Wednesday 3rd November
Wednesday 1st 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 9:30pm (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 2021 will be held on these dates:
Wednesday 17th March
Wednesday 21st April
Wednesday 19th May
Wednesday 16th June
Wednesday 21st July
Wednesday 18th August
Wednesday 15th September
Wednesday 15th December
Kapiti Coast Meetings:
Unfortunately we are not able to continue our in-person support meetings in Paraparaumu. Until we might be able to run the meetings again, we encourage bereaved parents on the Kapiti Coast to join the Sands NZ online support meetings. An open bereaved parents and whānau meeting is is held on the first Monday evening of each month.
October /November 2021 in-person support meetings -
We will be holding one meeting per month in October and November in Johnsonville, so Wednesday October 6th and Wednesday November 3rd our meetings will take place. This means we will have NO HUTT VALLEY MEETINGS for October & November. We apologise for any inconvenience this might cause.
Please email us on sandswgtnhutt@gmail.com or text us on 022-3983917 if you have any questions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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'.
Our support meetings are for all bereaved parents, families and whānau, no matter when or how your baby died, at what gestation or age. We might offer different meetings if we had the people power to do so (perhaps early loss, termination/induction of pregnancy, newborn/neonatal death, infant/toddler loss) but that's just not an option right now. So we invite all bereaved parents to join us - this means you will be sitting with parents who have had similar experiences, and some who have had vastly different experiences to you. However, we all know the experience of great love and grief for our children and we hold everyone's experience of loss with respect, aroha and compassion.
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 9:30pm (though you can leave earlier, we often break for a cuppa 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 2021 will be held on these dates:
Wednesday 3rd March
Wednesday 7th April
Wednesday 5th May
Wednesday 2nd June
Wednesday 7th July
Wednesday 4th August
Wednesday 1st September
Wednesday 6th October
Wednesday 3rd November
Wednesday 1st 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 9:30pm (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 2021 will be held on these dates:
Wednesday 17th March
Wednesday 21st April
Wednesday 19th May
Wednesday 16th June
Wednesday 21st July
Wednesday 18th August
Wednesday 15th September
Wednesday 15th December
Kapiti Coast Meetings:
Unfortunately we are not able to continue our in-person support meetings in Paraparaumu. Until we might be able to run the meetings again, we encourage bereaved parents on the Kapiti Coast to join the Sands NZ online support meetings. An open bereaved parents and whānau meeting is is held on the first Monday evening of each month.
Sands NZ Online Support Meetings:
Sands NZ has three regular online support meetings that use the Zoom platform.
Sands NZ has three regular online support meetings that use the Zoom platform.
- Open meeting for all bereaved parents and whānau- first Monday evening of the month, 8:00-9:15pm
- Empty Arms - for bereaved parents with no living children, second Wednesday evening of each month, 8:00-9:15pm
- Pregnancy After Loss Support - second Monday evening of each month, 8:00-9:15pm
