Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

11% rise in youth drug services

By Staff Reporters
Northern Advocate·
28 Jan, 2014 09:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Where to go for help: NDHB mental health services Whangarei: 430 4101, youth health [ext 8320]. Kaitaia: 408 8658 [ext 4720]. Hokianga, Kaikohe and Kawakawa: 0800 222 449 [ext 5871]. Dargaville: 439 7149 [ext 6701] After-hours mental health line: 0800 223 37

Where to go for help: NDHB mental health services Whangarei: 430 4101, youth health [ext 8320]. Kaitaia: 408 8658 [ext 4720]. Hokianga, Kaikohe and Kawakawa: 0800 222 449 [ext 5871]. Dargaville: 439 7149 [ext 6701] After-hours mental health line: 0800 223 37

Northland drug and alcohol services have seen an 11 per cent rise in youth uptake, the organisations running them say.

There were an extra 165 youth reaching out for help in the most recent year's statistics, compared to the year before.

The figures were released to the Northern Advocate amid news the region has been allocated a $860,000 boost for new services in Whangarei and Kaipara.

The Ministry of Health funding will specifically provide extra services for Far North youths, between the ages of 12 and 19, struggling with addiction and mental health issues.

Rubicon Youth Alcohol and Drug Support Services, the non-government organisation delivering the services with the Northland District Health Board, works with young people in Whangarei and Kaipara.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In the year ending September 30, 2013, 1664 young people were treated by addiction service providers including Rubicon, the district health board and agencies such as Ngati Hine.

Of those young clients, 907 were Maori youth and 757 were non-Maori. In 2012, there were 1499 young clients, 11 per cent less than in 2013. The figures also show an increase in uptake from Maori, with an additional 119 Maori youths seeking help last year.

The district health board said an increase in collaborative work, "largely due to the interagency groups established to minimise the risk of suicide contagion amongst youth" might be behind the increase.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The additional funding will extend Rubicon's presence in high schools and provide additional psychology resources.

Northland District Health Board general manager of mental health services, Sue Wyeth said combining the youth mental health and addiction services would mean a more cohesive approach.

"People with co-existing mental health and substance-use problems often need to navigate both mental health and addiction services."

All staff working in mental health and addiction services for young people in Whangarei will be based at the Rubicon centre in Bank St. In the Far North, staff will work at a villa adjacent to Kaitaia Hospital.

Discover more

Editorial: Inequality in schools will come at cost

06 Feb 07:59 PM
Save
    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

Logging truck rolls, blocking Far North road in both directions

Northern Advocate

Charity's ambition to launch Northland's first fully accessible fishing boat

Northern Advocate

‘Arrogant way to treat your manager’: Detectives' private chat reveals tensions in Northland CIB


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Logging truck rolls, blocking Far North road in both directions
Northern Advocate

Logging truck rolls, blocking Far North road in both directions

Police advise motorists to avoid the area or delay travel.

23 Jul 12:23 AM
Charity's ambition to launch Northland's first fully accessible fishing boat
Northern Advocate

Charity's ambition to launch Northland's first fully accessible fishing boat

22 Jul 11:00 PM
‘Arrogant way to treat your manager’: Detectives' private chat reveals tensions in Northland CIB
Northern Advocate

‘Arrogant way to treat your manager’: Detectives' private chat reveals tensions in Northland CIB

22 Jul 05:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP