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This week’s guest speaker was Roger Green who has 33 years’ experience working with people with addictions such as drugs and alcohol. Roger is Founder and Director of the New Zealand Retreat Auckland (NZRA) which operates a facility in Otahuhu and opened in April 2013. It is similar in concept to the Retreat at Wayzata, Minnesota, USA. Though modelled on the Twelve Steps principles of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) there is no affiliation with AA. Nevertheless, AA has been around for 85 years and has continued to be the by far the most effective rehab programme. ACC data indicates that 600,000 New Zealanders – or 1 in 5 people - have an addiction. Roger refers to it as a disease that is utterly denied even until death. Roger has first-hand knowledge of experiencing addiction over 41 years ago and has been in recovery for 38 years. Roger provided a valuable overview of the structure and model of care the Retreat provides.
Referrals are from Primary Care, DHBs, online and self-referrals. The age group is from 18 years old (entry age) to anywhere up to 85 years. 'Clients' attend a 3o day (25 bed) residential programme which costs $10,850. One of the admission criterion is that Clients must be clean and sober prior to entry so it is not uncommon that they attend an external detoxification programme first. The effectiveness of the programme is clearly seen from Day One – hope is evident from the very beginning. Staff are available 24/7, 365 days of the year. The Retreat employs experienced professionals in recovery and the programme is delivered by recovering volunteers. The programme has seven areas of focus including personal back stories, storytelling and family involvement. The Retreats’ measure of success is at 12 months post-programme completion there is only a 10% return rate.
It truly was an inspirational talk with the underpinning philosophy of care, concern and love as the cornerstone of the Retreat model of rehabilitation for people with the disease of addiction.