For many new parents, the transition into motherhood can feel isolating, overwhelming, and exhausting. On the Sunshine Coast, a non-clinical community space is rapidly becoming the essential “village” local mums are relying on to get through their hardest days.
Peach Tree Perinatal Wellness has reported a dramatic rise in the number of families seeking support through its Sunshine Coast centre. In just six months, the centre received 150 referrals and recorded over 700 attendances, with unique participants jumping from 58 between April and June to 82 between July and September.
Alongside mental health support, practical needs across the region are also soaring. Through a partnership with Urban Angels Community Kitchen, Peach Tree’s weekly meal distribution has doubled, from 60 to 120 free prepared meals delivered to local families.
More than a service: An extension of home
While the rapid growth in numbers highlights the scale of need across the region, Regional Leader Courtney Dummett says the true impact of the space is measured in the way local mums are leaning on it.
“Some come for a group in the morning and end up staying with us for the entire day,” says Courtney. “They make a coffee, feed their baby, have lunch, sit with us, join another activity, or sometimes just stay because being here feels easier than going home.”
Worker with baby at Peach Tree Perinatal Wellness Sunshine Coast
For many, Peach Tree fills the gap left by a lack of nearby family or traditional support networks.
“Peach Tree has genuinely become an extension of their own home, and our team has become part of the village they may not otherwise have around them,” Courtney explains. “One mum might walk through our doors because she’s lonely and wants to meet another mum. Another might be experiencing anxiety, intrusive thoughts, or processing a traumatic birth.”
The centre also supports women experiencing significant psychological distress, suicidality, or those transitioning back into the community following inpatient mental health care.
“They may still have clinical and specialist teams around them, but Peach Tree gives them something different,” says Courtney. “Somewhere familiar and non-clinical where they can come exactly as they are and be surrounded by people who understand.”
Growing the physical space to match local demand
As attendance numbers continue to climb, Peach Tree is working to expand its physical facilities on the Sunshine Coast so the environment can better serve every woman who walks through the door.
The team is currently working to fund two critical upgrades:
- A dedicated sensory and regulation room: Designed as a calm, low-stimulation space where a mum who feels dysregulated or overwhelmed can pause and reset without having to pack up her baby and leave.
- Enhanced acoustic privacy: Upgrading the soundproofing in consultation rooms to ensure absolute privacy for women sharing vulnerable experiences like birth trauma, relationship challenges, or intrusive thoughts.
Beyond privacy, improved soundproofing will also allow Peach Tree to bring visiting services directly to the women who need them.
“Instead of telling a vulnerable mum, ‘here’s another service, now go somewhere else and tell your story again,’ we could increasingly bring that support to her,” Courtney says. “She could meet another service at Peach Tree, somewhere she already knows the faces, knows where to make a coffee, knows where she can feed her baby and, most importantly, already feels safe.”
Building a better village for Sunshine Coast families
At its core, Peach Tree’s mission isn’t just about offering individual programs; it’s about reshaping how maternal support is delivered across the Sunshine Coast.
“Neither of these projects is about making our centre look nicer,” says Courtney. “They’re about making sure that when a woman manages to walk through our doors and ask for help, our environment allows her to stay, and wherever possible, allows the support she needs to come to her.”
Whether local parents need a structured parenting program, individual peer support, a meal to take home, or simply a friendly face and a warm cup of coffee, Peach Tree is proving that a compassionate, community-led village makes all the difference.
To learn more about their programs or to support their ongoing facility upgrades, visit the Peach Tree Perinatal Wellness website.
