Walkers step out for new Bay drug rehab centre

By JOEL FORD
Richard Rihari and Josh Evans are walking 650km to help raise $1.5 million for a new drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre in the Bay.
The pair are taking part in a 20-day fundraising walk - "Strife to Life" - to raise money for the Breakthrough Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre, which houses 30 people just outside Te Puke.
The lease on the centre's building will run out at the end of next month, meaning it needs to find a new home.
A new house for the centre is expected to cost about $1.5m so the group has had to come up with some creative ideas to raise money.
As a result, Mr Rihari and Mr Evans are preparing to embark on the walk of a life time.
The pair will start off from Te Puke over Queen's Birthday weekend and head to Rotorua before heading to Taupo, Tokoroa, Cambridge, Hamilton and Auckland.
Once there they will turn around and head for the finish line in Tauranga via Paeroa, Waihi and Katikati.
The journey is expected to take 20 days.
For 41-year-old Mr Rihari, the walk is a chance to give something back to the centre, which has helped him overcome some recent difficulties.
He has been living at the centre since January receiving treatment for problems related to drugs and alcohol.
"When this came up I jumped at the chance. It's a huge challenge but we're up for it," he said.
Mr Rihari and Mr Evans are expecting some tough moments but are trying to make things as easy as possible for themselves by doing 10km to 20km training walks every day.
They are hoping to cover a minimum of 34km a day and Mr Evans, who does not have addiction issues but is the grandson of a counsellor at the Breakthrough centre, thinks once they get going everything will fall into place.
"I reckon the first few days are going to be the toughest. We'll have to avoid getting sick that's the main thing," he said.
Like his partner, Mr Evans is undertaking the walk because he believes strongly in what the rehabilitation centre does.
"I have a passion for this place and I want to see it doing what it does best," he said.
But the pair won't be alone on their journey, six others from the centre will be part of a support team who will offer encouragement and help out when needed.
They will also be responsible for collecting donations when the pair walk through towns and cities.
Breakthrough Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre director, Aldyth Chandler, said raising the money to by a new building would be no easy task.
She hopes Bay area churches will be willing to help out and will also be trying to gain corporate sponsorship for "Strife to Life".
"Basically if we want to raise $1.5m we need 1500 people to give us $1000 - that's a big thing," she said.
Ms Chandler said Breakthrough Rehabilitation had managed to save some money to buy a new house but was still along way off from where it needed to be.
The centre was keen to stay in the Bay and members had been looking at properties for some time but had had no luck finding an appropriate venue. "There are about 30 of us so it's not easy to find a place to go," she said.
If you would like to donate to the Breakthrough Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre you can call (07) 573 7999 or 021750 583.