Before participating in a PEPS Group, many people believe PEPS is just another parenting class. In reality, PEPS is so much more than that. It’s a space to build community, have real, raw conversations, and connect with other parents going through the same phase of life. Archana Agrawal shares her experience in a PEPS Newborn Group and how her expectations changed after joining a group.
This spring, Open Arms Perinatal Services and PEPS started a peer support group for Spanish-speaking families. Open Arms hosted these meetings at El Centro de la Raza and coordinated additional support for the mothers who attended. Maria, Community Connector at PEPS, and Betty Hernandez, a doula at Open Arms, led this first-time pilot group. Betty is also an obstetrical nurse and acts…
Childish Things is a children’s clothing and toy resale boutique located in Crown Hill. The owner, Wendy Powell, is a local Seattle mom who started her business in 2008. She took a few moments this month to chat with us. Childish Things has been a partner of PEPS since 2012. Thank you! What factors do you weigh when deciding which organization…
Grandparents gathered for a PEPS quarterly grandparent happy hour to celebrate National Grandparents Day. Jan Faull facilitated the discussion on kids and positive social behavior. We asked attendees to sit at tables organized the age of their grandchild(ren). Discussion was animated, and grandparents talked about their role being involved. Here’s a look at what they shared: What do you want…
PEPS recently had the opportunity to facilitate a parent support group in Spanish. Maria Alejandra Gomez, community connector on staff at PEPS helped organize and facilitate the group meetings with the new moms. “It was a great opportunity to provide support to new moms, and it was the first time I had led a PEPS Group in Spanish,” Maria said.…
On Friday, July 27 from 10 am – 12 pm, parents, babies and toddlers will meet up to stroll around Lakewood Park with local policymakers to talk about issues, policies, legislation that affect families and young children. Things like quality affordable childcare and parental leave for the important time needed to bond with your baby. It’s called Strolling Thunder and…
Five years ago, Katja Petersen and her husband joined a PEPS group. “We are both originally from Mexico. When we were pregnant with our first child, we found ourselves with no support network. Thankfully, a friend of ours introduced us to PEPS,” Katja said. “The experience of being an immigrant is not easy because people we love are far away. We are forced to build relationships and connections with people that might not speak our language,…
“I’ve always either sought out community, been a part of a community, created community. But as a parent? That was an area where I didn’t have a community.” Watch this video of PEPS parents talk about the importance of community.
The phrase “Counting on Community,” conjures up for me countless stories I’ve heard from PEPS parents. One story that stays with me is about a mom who was struggling with intense sleep deprivation. Like, not your average new baby sleep problems, but a chronic health condition that led to months of sleepless nights. She was exhausted. Midway through her PEPS experience, she walked into that week’s PEPS meeting with tears…