Connection, community for Surf Coast parents

PARENTS seeking connection will have a new opportunity to meet and socialise with Parent Thread’s coming free, no-commitment coffee catch ups at Interlude in Grovedale.

“It’s an opportunity for people to connect with other parents in the area in a way that’s very low pressure,” Parent Thread founder and director, Eleisha Casañas, said.

Casañas said she hopes to create a “non-judgemental space… to drink coffee and have a chat”.

Inspired by her research into loneliness during parenthood and pregnancy, Casañas, wanted to create new avenues for connection and community.

“Life transitions are a time when you’re at greater risk of experiencing loneliness, and becoming a parent is a really big life transition,” she said.

Her additional research designing local programs revealed cost and time as major barriers for parents seeking connection.

“The idea behind the coffee catch ups is to remove some of those barriers,” she explained.

Attendees are welcome to come and go as they need, with no cost or obligation to attend.

“It’s very easy to access, you don’t have to sign up, you don’t have to pay, and you don’t have to commit to anything,” she said.

“It’s an entry point that’s easy for people to get involved in without it feeling like a really big formal activity that can be hard when you’re dealing with little kids.”

The response from local parents has been positive, with many “keen to have something regular they can get involved in so they can keep catching up with one another”.

“Organising catch ups is a challenge especially when you’re looking after a new-born baby.”

For people who are unsure, Casañas said: “I urge them to give it a go… because it is such a welcoming community, and it’s for all types of people and all experiences.”

She said she hopes parents will leave the catch ups “feeling part of a community.”

The coffee catch ups will be held at Interlude in Grovedale from 9am to 11am on the first Thursday of each month, starting this Thursday, February 5.

For more information, head to linktr.ee/parent_thread