Kāpiti Coast Grandparents Raising Grandchildren is a branch of a nationwide organisation that provides self-care, support and a safe space where grandparents charged with raising their grandchildren can meet with other people who get what they’re going through. The Kāpiti group, which is jointly coordinated by Alison, Atareira and Cecilee, currently supports 50 grandparents.

I met with some members of the group and coordinator Alison on a sunny spring morning. While each grandparent’s situation is unique, they’ve all needed to manage the trauma that led to them becoming the main carer—both for themselves and their grandchildren. They come to the group because it provides for, and accepts, a “different kind of normal”. They told me that it was “a place where you don’t have to finish a sentence”; “head nodding” shows that the other members of the group understand.

They swap ideas and experiences and, while I was there, they shared their progress in a range of areas, such as ways of being a grandparent as well as a parent, and talked about the kind of treats and conversations they had with their grandchildren so that neither the grandparent nor the grandchild totally missed out on that grandparent relationship.

The Kāpiti chapter of Good Bitches Baking provides home-baking every week. Participants love the baking. They told me it’s “just a delight’ as they don’t have the time to bake and that the baking “provides the energy” for both their support group discussions and their role as main caregivers. Good Bitch Emma’s Lemon Squeezy Slice (Chelsea Winter) certainly hit the spot the day I was there!

For more information about Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, or to join the Kāpiti group, check here.