Anti-P Ministry's public event in Whanganui helping users kick the habit

The Anti-P Ministry bus was in Whanganui on March 13, with Paula Johnston (left), Shannette Hirst and Brendon Warne. Photo / Bevan Conley

The amount of interest in a campaign against the use of methamphetamine in Whanganui is "awesome", Anti-P Ministry founder Brendon Warne says.

The Anti-P Ministry is a voluntary group of ex-meth users who want to wean others off the drug.

On Saturday, March 13, its campaign bus and walk-in office was in central Whanganui, with speakers, singers and information available at Majestic Square.

"There were so many [motorcycle] riders turned up, so many people reached out and talked to us, so many people are getting help right now," Warne said.

Organiser Tane Puru gave it his all, and Warne was pleased a lot of gang members and leaders came.

"They genuinely want their members off meth. That was a really good thing for me to hear."

A former addict with his own chequered past, Warne promised his daughter Mya he would get clear of meth. He did so, with relapses. He started the Anti-P Ministry in 2007 while in prison, and roams the country in its bus, Rerenga Wairua.

Anyone can walk into the bus to get help. All the work was voluntary and the only funding for the group came from selling T-shirts and a givealittle page, he said.

A Facebook page and website tell addicts and their families where to get support in 32 centres across New Zealand. In Whanganui it's at Shannette Hirst's table, set up outside The Warehouse from noon to 2pm on Wednesdays.

The ministry has branches in Australia and the United States, and the different time zones mean anyone can get a response from its website at any time.

"When people are on meth, they don't sleep," Warne said.

His group was more effective at helping addicts than a health agency, he said, because its people had used meth themselves and were not judgmental.

"The Anti-P Ministry isn't there to judge addicts and dealers. We are just trying to help and support people who want to stop."

Warne has been "clean" for four years, and completed a Mental Health and Addiction Support Work course in Rotorua. Hirst said she had only "played" with meth and never been addicted. She had a concern for all addictions.

Shannette Hirst (left), Paula Johnston and Brendon Warne have all had experience with meth - and want to help others ditch it. Photo / Bevan Conley

Paula Johnston left Auckland for Whanganui to get away from her habit but found a surprising amount of meth here.

"It's an underworld drug. You don't see people on the corner of the street selling it, but it's everywhere."

The support of other former users helped her get clean.

"We tried so many different avenues to get off the stuff, but it's actually the support of each other that works."

Like a lot of users, she has sold meth to make money.

The three said the drug made users feel euphoric and invincible, took all their problems away and masked trauma.

"You think you can accomplish lots of things, but you can't."

It is quickly addictive.

"You might start out thinking it's all good and you are in control, but it quickly becomes the dictator of your life," Johnston said.

People who use meth could come from any walk of life, and while gangs were often named as the biggest dealers, Warne said they were at the lower end.

"If you want to know who deals it, look for the ones with assets who don't wear a tie."

The three saw damage from meth everywhere, especially in family violence.

"No more meth and they're coming down - the chances are someone's going to pay for that," Johnston said.

They also saw thousands of grandparents who were raising their grandchildren, mainly because the parents were addicts.

Auckland had a drug court where addiction was treated as a health issue rather than a crime, Warne said.

"They're giving recovery-based sentences instead of just locking people up. "

There were rehab beds available in large centres but often there was a wait of eight to 12 weeks to get one. The Anti-P Ministry has an eight-week course called Planting the Seed to keep people going until they can get a bed.

It has weekly online "recovery church" too, suitable for Christians and others. Warne calls himself a "souljah of God", but he knows a lot of people are without faith.

To get help from the Anti-P Ministry, go to its website or its Facebook page.