For Eunice, getting her daughter back was the incentive to be drug free again. With a lot of determination and support from Auckland City Mission – Te Tāpui Atawhai, Eunice is now living her best life. 

After her marriage of twenty years fell apart, a new partner introduced Eunice to methamphetamine. She had never taken it before, but within weeks, she was addicted. 

“I was in a dumb relationship – he put me down the wrong track, and then it just started from there. I was taking anything and everything that could make me high, but mainly meth.” 

Eunice’s older children were already adults, but her youngest daughter was still in primary school. She tried to juggle work and looking after her daughter with her drug habit, but her life quickly spiraled out of control. She lost her job, her home and the relationship with her children broke down.  

Her grown-up children took over care of her youngest daughter. “They stopped me from seeing her. They said that till I’m ready, they’ll look after her. When I get better, she’ll come home. I knew it was best because of what I was doing, but I had to ask permission to go visit my baby.” 

She also suffered from major depression, after being caught up in the aftermath of a violent crime and became dependent on sleeping tablets. 

For eight years, Eunice struggled with addiction and depression, before she was ready and able to make the changes she needed to break the habit. 

Getting her youngest daughter back was the incentive for Eunice to finally get drug free: “I wanted to get my baby back – I missed her so much and she missed me.” 

It has taken enormous determination to get her life back on track. 

She credits her recovery to a close friend who has helped her on the journey, who she refers to as her support person, and to medical support from the Mission. The doctors and nurses at the Mission’s Calder Health Centre have been with Eunice every step of the way. 

“If I couldn’t see the doctors throughout my time of getting sick and trying to be clean, I wouldn’t be clean.” 

At the Calder Health Centre, we offer affordable, trauma-informed medical care and our team is experienced in dealing with the complex health impacts of living with poverty, sleeping rough and harmful substance use.  

The low cost of appointments, a payment plan to spread the cost, and the longer consultation times at Calder mean that anyone can access the care that they need. 

“At my old doctors, my bill was up to $200 and they wouldn’t see me anymore because I couldn’t pay. I don’t think I would be able to see a doctor if I couldn’t do the payment plan here.”    

For Eunice, the non-judgemental care she has received has been crucial to her recovery: “I never lied to them about what I was on. They supported me and how I was feeling, even knowing I was a drug addict. They spoke to me like a person, not treated me like a druggie. They were probably the incentive for helping me get clean.” 

Through Calder, she got the medication she needed to stop using methamphetamine, and a referral to the Mission’s Social Withdrawal (detox) programme, where she spent two weeks withdrawing from sleeping tablets. 

The 15-bed residential Social Withdrawal programme at HomeGround is open to anyone trying to break the cycle of addiction and provides personalised support to help people safely stop using. 

“I couldn’t give up the Zoplaclone [sleeping tablets] without that support. The staff were brilliant and helpful. They had all my medication and made sure that I was taking it properly. I had someone there really watching over me. It was great.” 

As part of the two-week programme, patients (known as tāngata whaiora) are guided back into healthy daily routines such as regular meals and good sleep hygiene. 

“It was waking up to a bright new day. It was rest. Having three meals a day, proper feeding. I didn’t want to leave! It was just the whole atmosphere.” 

Staff help whaiora develop plans to assist in their ongoing recovery after they have completed the Social Withdrawal programme, with many going on to other support services such as rehabilitation programmes. 

Eunice’s plan for post-detox recovery included community-based support: “I had my support person and John [from Detox] rang every few weeks to see how I was doing. I also was getting positive feedback from Lizzy and Fiona [Calder nurses] about how well I was doing.” 

Eunice recently celebrated one full year of being free from methamphetamine.  Over the last year, she’s given up not only methampthetamine and sleeping tablets, but also alcohol and cigarettes. 

She’s now committed to looking after her health: “I go to the gym practically every day. I’ve changed my diet. I feel brilliant!” 

And most importantly, Eunice has reconnected with her 16-year-old daughter, who is now living with her again. 

“I got my baby back! It’s like Christmas on top of Christmas. It’s so good that it’s scary.”  

“I don’t want to give all this up. I don’t want to ruin it by ever going back to the life I had before.”