Susanne North is taking matters into her own hands after creating The Women’s Well, an eastern suburbs community group looking to empower women from all walks of life.
Member for Coogee Dr Marjorie O’Neill with fellow committee members of the eastern suburbs group – the Women’s Well at its first event.
Susanne North has one goal, and that is to empower women in the eastern suburbs.
Having arrived in Australia from Germany in 1995, the family and wellbeing coach has understood the challenges facing women, particularly coming to a foreign country without any support networks in place.
And while there were a litany of reasons for creating The Women’s Well, an eastern suburbs group aimed at creating positive change for women in the community, it was restrictions during Covid which made Ms North recognise the need for women to support each other and “have each other’s back”.
So much so, Ms North has been supported by Coogee MP Marjorie O’Neill and a number of committee members, meeting up every second month to discuss important issues women face on a day-to-day basis.
Ms North said the group’s name originated from stories of women in developing countries who would meet up at the well when fetching water for their community.
Susanne North, founder of the Women’s Well.
“It became a community hub for these women, where they could exchange with each other,” Ms North said. “There’s a story from a country in Africa where the well was replaced with modern infrastructure … so the women didn’t have the need to go to the well anymore and as a result, this community broke apart.”
Ms North said because women didn’t have that purpose of going to the well, they weren’t able to connect with each other and this resonated following an International Women’s Day event.
Member for Coogee Dr Marjorie O’Neill. Picture: Monique Harmer
She said the group was then born because they “felt women were really looking for local events and venues to connect with each other” with 60 women attending its first event in May.
“We had such a great turnout, especially from elderly women, and what we noticed was the word loneliness came up throughout the storytelling,” she said.
With four speakers, focusing on youth mental health, it gave a sense of meaning and purpose to those in attendance.
For Ms North, no matter what background you’re from, whether you’re a widow, facing homelessness, a migrant or facing difficulties at home, giving women a safe space to come together and feel a sense of belonging continues to be her motivation as she aims to make the group available to more women in the community.
“There’s a real need to connect with each other and share stories, knowing that these women are not on their own,” she said. “Everyone wants to be heard, everyone wants to share their story and also be validated in that experience.”
Dr O’Neill who’s helped in the creation of the women’s group said she was “passionate about working” with those in her electorate in creating avenues for women to “come together” and in turn building a stronger community to break down the issues such as domestic violence and loneliness.
“The Women’s Well is run and organised by local woman who noticed that we needed to create a safe space for women to connect and support each other. It’s wonderful to see women coming together driving this local initiative,” Dr O’Neill said.
The next meeting will be held on August 11 at the Lecture Theatre and Atrium in the Royal Hospital for Women.
