A residential drug rehabilitation facility is needed in Tauranga, iwi and social service providers say. Photos/ Andrew Warner
A residential drug rehabilitation facility is needed in Tauranga, iwi and social service providers say. Photos/ Andrew Warner
Iwi around the country are stamping their mark on the business world and providing employment opportunities, health, education, social services and cultural connections. Carmen Hall spent a week with Ngāi Te Rangi and got a rare insight into the iwi's operations. This is part three in the series.
Calls fora Tauranga residential drug rehabilitation centre have reignited as people aged between 13 and 65 battle addictions while "one kilo of meth" is consumed every week in the city.
Last week, the Ministry of Health announced a new seven-bed residential facility and programmes to address methamphetamine harm in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.
They would be paid for by the Proceeds of Crime Fund. Minister of Health Andrew Little said demand for addiction treatment services had grown "steadily" over the past decade and more needed to be done to support people and communities struggling with drugs.
But in Tauranga, social workers said waiting lists of up to six months for facilities in Rotorua or Hamilton meant addicts needing rehab could not kick their habits. Some felt the system was failing them.
Ngāi Te Rangi social worker Glenn Shee started drinking alcohol at 12 before spiralling into cannabis and "every drug you could think of".
In 1995, he was living in Brisbane and addicted to methamphetamine.
"Every bone was protruding in my body and I only weighed 54 kgs. I had really bad infections due to a lack of nutrition, sleep and cleanliness. I got evicted from my house because we trashed it.
An intervention by his brother and parents brought him home to Tauranga, where he tried to sort his life out and worked at the family business before having another relapse.
He knew then "I needed to get my sh*t together".
Frustrated counsellors did not know much about his addiction as it was a relatively new phenomenon in New Zealand. He was encouraged to study so that he could share his experience. Shee consequently graduated with a University of Waikato degree in social work in 2013.
It took more than three decades but Shee finally got sober.
Shee has become an advocate for a residential drug rehabilitation centre and said it was "ridiculous" that the fastest-growing regional city in the country didn't have one.
"Our biggest challenge is getting our clients into rehab. The waitlist is just astronomical."
Ngāi Te Rangi Mauritau addictions and mental health unit took self-referrals or people referred from the probation office, education sector, Bay of Plenty District Health Board and other agencies.
Last year, the service supported about 200 people with drug and alcohol problems.
Meth, LSD, ecstasy, cannabis and alcohol were the main addictions the service was dealing with and the aftermath could be horrific.
"Poverty and crime come with a junkie. Addiction can cause family harm and relationship break-ups."
Shee said: "I can't remember a lot of my life, it was a drug haze".
"I don't want the youth of today and others to end up in that position. It was hell."
Ngāi Te Rangi Community Action youth, alcohol and drug co-ordinator Mikaere Stanley. Photo / Carmen Hall
Ngāi Te Rangi Community Action youth alcohol and drug co-ordinator Mikaere Stanley, who has a background in teaching, was working on a drug and alcohol forum.
The idea was to partner with agencies to help and support whānau to curb their addictions and help loved ones who were dealing with the aftermath.
In his view, crime rates reflected an increasing number of drug users in Tauranga.
"We work with people who want to share their stories ... It's real kōrero on how they are struggling with their addictions, and how it has impacted their families and children.
"It's a real eye-opener."
Chief executive Paora Stanley said he believed drugs and alcohol were the symptoms of a wider problem.
Treatment centres had horrific failure rates and he was in favour of services that had a Whānau Ora approach, bringing a whole family in rather than just individuals. It was an option Ngāi Te Rangi was exploring.
Te Tuinga Whanau chief executive Tommy Wilson said he attended a lecture that revealed: "Tauranga was chewing through a kilo of meth a week, which equates to about $1 million."
He said it was time to look at meth use from a medicinal point of view and not a criminal point of view, "so the argument to have a rehab centre is stronger than ever".
Alcohol was also a big issue, and in his opinion, "we are demonising P and glamourising grog".
Salvation Army's Michael Douglas said the impact of harmful substance use and addiction was devastating for individuals and their whānau.
"It adversely affects all social wellbeing determinants including relationships, physical mental and spiritual health, employment, housing, and a range of other measures."
A Tauranga Bridge programme that directly supported 107 people in the year to May was down from 136 to May 2021. However, the drop in engagement was attributed to the management of Covid-19 outbreaks.
Bay of Plenty District Health Board Planning and Funding general manager Mike Agnew said any move towards a local service provision would need to be managed as part of a transition process so that it wouldn't destabilise existing service arrangements.
The Bay of Plenty Addiction Service was the regional secondary addiction service for the region and operated on a case-management model available to those aged 18 and over. It has 346 active clients across its Tauranga and Whakatāne sites.
