The Ruth Project

23/07/2024

Always a pleasure to review the previous year. Celebrating achievements and growth, learning from what didn’t work and making plans for the future ahead.

19/07/2024

18/07/2024

The Ruth Project Wairarapa is dedicated to empowering marginalised communities, particularly parents struggling with perinatal mental distress. We focus on providing vital support between appointments, breaking isolation, and fostering community connections. By empowering parents to take control and offering preventative care for mild to moderate struggles, we help create a resilient and informed community. Our collaboration with professional organisations ensures a holistic approach to mental health. Join us in supporting these parents and strengthening our community.

17/07/2024

🌸 **Birth Trauma Awareness Week in NZ** 🌸

Did you know that 50 women in New Zealand experience birth trauma each day? This Birth Trauma Awareness Week, we shine a light on this important issue, raise awareness, and provide support to those affected.

**This year’s theme: Informed Consent**
Understanding and respecting informed consent is vital in ensuring a positive birth experience.

Join us in our campaign to do 50 things to represent the 50 māmā and pāpā who experience birth trauma each day. From sharing stories to community events, let’s raise awareness and support each other. Check out what others are doing as part of the 50 for 50 campaign at (https://www.mybirthstory.org.nz/home).

The Ruth Project is here to support parents’ mental well-being through these challenging times. Our mission is to empower and support parents, helping them navigate perinatal mental distress and break isolation. The Ruth Project is available to support both mothers and fathers through these experiences.

If you or someone you know needs support, visit Birth Trauma Aotearoa for resources and more information. Let’s break the silence and support each other! 💖

16/07/2024

We are thrilled to announce that The Ruth Project has received a generous grant from COGS Community Organisation Grants Scheme.
This support will enable us to continue our mission of making a positive impact in our community. With funding, we can expand our programs, reach more individuals in need, and create lasting change.
A huge thank you to the COGS team for believing in our vision and supporting our efforts. We are immensely grateful for this opportunity to enhance our services and make a difference.
To our amazing supporters, volunteers and partners - this is for all of us, together we make the village for our village.
Community Matters - DIA

15/07/2024

💙 Why 50? 💙
In Aotearoa, around 160 babies are born each day.

Research tells us that 1 in 3 birthing parents will report their birth as psychologically traumatic meaning around 50 mums PER DAY leave birth traumatised or feeling negatively about their experience.

These numbers are mindboggling.
And they need to change.

So, during Birth Trauma Awareness Week, we invite you to get involved in the '50 for 50' campaign.
50 for 50 raises awareness of birth-related trauma.
It's also a way to acknowledge and honour the 50 people per day who leave birth feeling broken.

How might this work for you?
💙 Join us – pick a 50.
The beauty of 50 for 50 is that it meets you where you’re at - you decide the 50 you want to do.
You could doodle 50 pictures or raranga for 50 mins or ask 50 friends to each donate $1 to support our work or read 50 pages of your favourite book or call 5 friends and talk with each for 10 minutes....
You can do it solo, or with friends; privately, or not.
Your 50 can be big or small, loud or private, aim to raise funds for our work or just raise your voice.
You choose.

If you're supporting Aotearoa’s birth trauma community and taking part in 50 for 50, we’d love to hear about it and share your 50!
Please email or tag us and use the hashtags:

15/07/2024

This week is Birth Trauma Awareness Week 💙

The birth trauma community grows by 50 mothers/birthing people PER DAY! That is 50 mothers/birthing people traumatised by their birth, yesterday, 50 today, 50 tomorrow...

Birth Trauma Aotearoa are encouraging everyone to participate in '50 for 50, for birth trauma awareness' to recognise the birth trauma community and advocate for improved prevention and support.

At PADA, we are sharing 10 organisations, services or groups that we wanted to highlight in the perinatal wellbeing space for 5 days, adding up to 50!

💜 Te Hapara Family Services - Tairāwhiti | Gisborne -
tehaparafamilyservices.acw.org.nz

💚 MindCare - Kirikiriroa | Hamilton - mindcare.nz

💙 Dadpression - National - dadpression.co.nz

💜 Rachel's House Trust - Canterbury - rachelshouse.org.nz

💚 PIPS Pregnancy Infancy Parenting Support - Canterbury - pips.co.nz

💙 Perinatal Wellbeing - Canterbury - perinatalwellbeing.org.nz

💜 Bellyful - National - bellyful.org.nz

💚 Te Mahoe Clinic - Wellington - ccdhb.org.nz/our-services/a-to-z-of-our-services/termination-of-pregnancy-counselling-service/

💙 Pillars New Zealand Ka Pou Whakahou - Around Aotearoa - pillars.org.nz

💜 Plunket - National - plunket.org.nz

You can find more support services at pada.nz/support-services 🔍

What are you doing for 50 for 50?!

15/07/2024

Today is the final day for board nominations to be in. Already grateful for the interest that has come through, looking forward to having some new members join our mission x not to late to get your interest in today.

14/07/2024

📢 Join Us This Saturday for Our AGM! 🎉

Don't miss out on an exciting evening as we celebrate our achievements and look forward to the future! Enjoy inspiring local guest speakers, delicious food by Korky's Catering, and hot and cold beverages from JK Food Truck.
Check out image for more details.

RSVP by through our event for catering purposes.


Join Us for The Ruth Project Annual General Meeting - https://mailchi.mp/4f7de6607f53/join-us-for-the-ruth-project-annual-general-meeting-13813288

08/07/2024

Week two of our resilience course continues in tomorrow. We had such a lovely first week last week, already with some great conversations. If you have older children home for the school holidays bring them along as we will entertain them while you relax and have a cuppa.

📢 Exciting News! Our course starts tomorrow! 🌟

🗓 Start Date: Tuesday, 2nd July
⏰ Time: 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM (8 consecutive weeks)
📍 Location: St James Church Hall, 116 High Street, Masterton

Explore emotions, learn coping strategies, and build a supportive community. This FREE course is brought to you by the Ruth Project, Motuoru Development Ltd, and The Wairarapa Women's Centre.

Contact us to enroll:
📧 [email protected]
📞 0204 0848921

Nurturing Resilience - https://mailchi.mp/b5f784794939/nurturing-resilience-13812348

04/07/2024

🌟 Join Our Board! Seeking Two New Trustees 🌟

The Ruth Project seeks dedicated trustees with board experience to guide our mission and support perinatal mental health.

We Are Looking For:

Commitment to our mission
Leadership skills
Nonprofit governance experience
South Wairarapa representation

Nomination Process:
Send nominations to [email protected] by July 15th.


The Ruth Project Wairarapa - https://mailchi.mp/8cec8303dfef/the-ruth-project-wairarapa

30/06/2024

📢 Exciting News! Our course starts tomorrow! 🌟

🗓 Start Date: Tuesday, 2nd July
⏰ Time: 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM (8 consecutive weeks)
📍 Location: St James Church Hall, 116 High Street, Masterton

Explore emotions, learn coping strategies, and build a supportive community. This FREE course is brought to you by the Ruth Project, Motuoru Development Ltd, and The Wairarapa Women's Centre.

Contact us to enroll:
📧 [email protected]
📞 0204 0848921

Nurturing Resilience - https://mailchi.mp/b5f784794939/nurturing-resilience-13812348

24/06/2024

Coffee morning for parents is on tomorrow (Tuesday) morning 10am - 12pm. Be so lovely to see you there bring a friend and enjoy a space to just relax and chat with other parents while we take care of you x

17/06/2024

Our cute little Library, we will be rotating books out soon so if there are any here you are keen on just let us know.

17/06/2024

Cup and biscuits are waiting for you. Come along to our weekly coffee morning for parents. Starts at 10am and finishes at 12pm but feel free to come and go as works for you. See you soon at St James Union Church Hall on High Street Masterton.

10/06/2024

What a beautiful day for coffee morning! If your wanting to get out of the house, come down to St James on High Street and enjoy a hot cuppa and relax xx

10/06/2024

🌟 Exciting News for New Mums! 🌟

Join the New Mums Resilience Programme - June Edition! 🤱✨

Run by Wairarapa Women's Centre and The Ruth Project, this 8-week journey supports mothers who welcomed a baby in the past two years. Led by experienced mentors, it offers a safe space to share experiences, build camaraderie, and cultivate resilience. Register now at [email protected] and thrive on this empowering journey! 💪🌷

10/06/2024

🌟 Coffee Morning is Back! 🌟

We're excited to announce that our beloved Coffee Morning is back after a two-week break due to sickness! ☕✨

Join us for a relaxing morning, perfect for parents to unwind, connect, and enjoy a delicious cup of coffee (or tea).

📅 Date: Every Tuesday
⏰ Time: 10am - 12pm
📍 Location: St James Union Church High Street Masterton

No RSVP needed – just drop in and enjoy. Bring a friend or two – the more, the merrier! 😊


https://mailchi.mp/22f8ebf360ec/join-us

03/06/2024

We are really sorry to cancel our coffee morning a second week in a row. Our team needs a little extra time to recover from the bugs going around, unfortunately we have been hit hard, our main priority is for us all to heal and be well so we can get back to doing what we love.
Take care of yourselves and please reach out if your hit with bugs and struggling, we can certainly still coordinate care if need too.
- Abby

24/05/2024

This is why we established The Ruth Project Wairarapa, to be a preventative service supporting our parents who are struggling with mild to moderate perinatal mental distress. How great would it be to have a government support organisations like ours working with volunteers and community people, providing connection, support and preventative help.

🟢 A few weeks ago, Amy Castle (PADA General Manager) and Jacqui Coates-Harris (registered psychiatric nurse and PADA Advisory Board member) spoke about perinatal mental health with Dionne Christian from The Listener.

🟣 From acknowledgements of organisations and groups across Aotearoa that are working tirelessly (with or without government funding) to support struggling parents, to harrowing statistics about maternal su***de. Thank you for continuing to help us raise awareness of perinatal mental health, and bringing it into the light further 💡

🔵 The article is paywalled - if you wish to read it in full, here is the link ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/59vun3sc

04/05/2024

Here is an opportunity for our dads. Check out the original video for more information and the link to join the discussion on being the best dad you can be.

04/05/2024

Mike and I chatted about our thoughts from our experience around perinatal mental distress on this weeks episode. Thought it was worth sharing here as well.

03/05/2024

Had a lovely morning down in Martinborough with the Little Laughs and Wise Words Intergenerational group. Been a great week visiting different groups all over the Wairarapa with

03/05/2024

We had a wonderful week visiting our local groups and sharing about our services. Looking forward to visiting more groups.

This week marked Perinatal Awareness Week, and we were privileged to have Rebecca from Hokai Tahi and Abby from the Ruth Project join us to share the services their organizations provide. Their work is truly inspiring and makes a significant impact.

01/05/2024

Love when parents have the boldness to share their experiences. I hope you can take encouragement and inspiration xx

Mumma of two, Christina shares her raw and emotional story on the blog today regarding her experience of postpartum depression and antenatal anxiety.

“Looking back to my experience with my first baby, one of my main triggers for anxiety was her sleep and feeling like I was failing as a mother if she wasn’t sleeping perfectly to what I thought was a ‘normal schedule’. It felt like there was a direct correlation between her sleeping/not sleeping and my success/lack of as a parent.”

Her journey, alongside her two girls Paige and Ava saw her suffering anxiety with both her beautiful children. Her triggers affected her anxiety at both pre and postnatal stages - and she talks so openly around what measures she’s put in place to overcome these hurdles.

Check out her beautiful story on the blog today: bit.ly/3Nyd7YO Christina, thank you so much for opening your heart up to us! 🤍

Please reach out to your local GP or midwife, or visit the PADA - Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Aotearoa website https://pada.nz/

30/04/2024

🌟 Perinatal Mental Health Awareness 🌟

Did you know that 1 in 5 parents, including dads, experience perinatal mental distress in Aotearoa each year? It’s more common than you might think, and it’s okay to ask for help. 💚

If you or someone you know is going through this journey, know that you’re not alone. The Ruth Project Wairarapa offers free support to both parents during this challenging time. Reach out if you want more information or support. We’re here for you. 💕

29/04/2024

🌟 Join us in supporting perinatal mental health during Perinatal Mental Health Awareness Week! The Ruth Project Wairarapa provides essential support to parents, offering free services to those in need.

💖 Help us continue this vital work by sponsoring or donating. Whether it’s a one-time gift or regular contributions, every bit makes a difference! You can donate through our Givealittle page or directly to our bank account.

✨ Together, let’s ensure that parents receive the care and support they deserve during this critical time. 🤝

We offer a free service to our families struggling with mental health before, during and after child birth.

14/10/2023

"We've said that men feel the need to be strong and active in the face of grief. Such responses are OK as long as your friend isn't avoiding his feelings altogether. It's also OK for men to feel and express rage, to be more cognitive or analytical about the death, to not cry. All of these typically masculine responses to grief may help your friend heal; there is no one "right" way to mourn a death."

Check out Dr Alan Wolfelt's article for practical advice:
https://bit.ly/menandgrieving

Center for Loss and Life Transition

13/10/2023

Taking time out for yourself and your family to relax, refresh and live without responsibilities even for a day, is important for our mental well-being. It’s ok to put yourself first.