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Support Meetings
Our support meetings are back to normal and no longer online. For info about Sands NZ's online support meetings, scroll to the bottom of the page.
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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 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 21st October
Wednesday 18th November
Wednesday 16th 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. A general bereaved parents meeting is starting up on Tuesday evenings; we'll post details here as soon as we have them to hand.
Sands NZ Online Support Meetings:
Sands NZ has three regular online support meetings that use the Zoom platform.
Our support meetings are back to normal and no longer online. For info about Sands NZ's online support meetings, scroll to the bottom of the page.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 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 21st October
Wednesday 18th November
Wednesday 16th 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. A general bereaved parents meeting is starting up on Tuesday evenings; we'll post details here as soon as we have them to hand.
Sands NZ Online Support Meetings:
Sands NZ has three regular online support meetings that use the Zoom platform.
- Bereaved parents support - first Tuesday 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 - every second Monday evening, 8:00-9:15pm
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