One of New Zealand’s biggest drug busts uncovered, the new policy threatening 20 years behind bars for Kiwis in Bali and Florida braces for another ferocious storm.
When faced with paying upwards of $25,000 for rehab, an Ōtaki man says he knew he needed to find an alternative.
Josh Woodgate-Jackson has struggled with alcohol addiction and other mental health issues for about 30 years and said despite working in mental health, disability and youth services for some time, his own struggles have never been resolved.
He said rehab is so expensive it’s not an option for him and his family - so he came up with his own idea, a journey called Hīkoi of Hope.
This journey will see Woodgate-Jackson head off into the New Zealand wilderness, where he will “seek peace, clarity and healing”.
Josh Woodgate-Jackson with his biggest supports - wife Kate Woodgate-Jackson and son Valera Bonyushkin. Photo / Grace Odlum
He plans to stay in a friend’s remote hut 25km out of Hokitika, where he will be spending time in nature and potentially volunteering in conservation efforts.
Woodgate-Jackson said his friend let him use his hut down south under two conditions - he cannot have any alcohol on the property and if he is successful on his Hīkoi of Hope he must help others by bringing them down to the hut too.
Ultimately, Woodgate-Jackson said he just wants to be alcohol-free.
“I’ve lived with it since I was 15 so I don’t really know what it’s like to live a life without alcohol. I don’t know what it’s like to live a life of complete sobriety, and I desperately want that - I desperately want to live a sober life.”
Josh Woodgate-Jackson with his Siberian Husky Marama. Photo / Grace Odlum
Woodgate-Jackson said he had a tough childhood - he was never in one place, travelling around the world with his parents from a young age, and when he was 15 he was introduced to alcohol.
“I was an alcoholic as soon as I started drinking.”
By 17 he was a daily drinker and he left his first job as a hairdresser in Auckland due to his drinking problem.
After that, he hitchhiked around for a bit, and he said he travelled the whole of the North Island and most of the South Island before eventually ending up in Australia for some time.
When he was about 22 he came back to New Zealand and stopped drinking for a while, getting a job as a youth worker at a church in Waikanae.
“I was employed as a youth worker basically because of my lived experience.”
While working at the church he ran monthly music concerts that attracted up to 1000 Kāpiti children, but eventually, he reverted to old habits and started drinking again.
“I found it really difficult because ... I had a lot of people speaking good words to me and words of encouragement and building me up. I was kind of in a way, now that I look back, a bit of a poster boy for a young guy that’s turned around his life. And so I met a lot of quite influential people during that period of time, but I wasn’t able to hold that together.”
Years later, in 2016, he met his wife, Kate, who came to New Zealand from Russia for a better life for herself and her son, Valera.
“Kate’s always been an amazing support in my life. It can be very difficult living with a person with mental health and addiction issues.”
A Givealittle page has been created by Valera, 17, to raise money to help pay for food, warm clothing, camping gear, and transport. The page can be found at givealittle.co.nz/cause/helping-my-father-overcome-his-mental-health.
On the page, Valera said he had learned a lot from his stepfather over the past eight years.
“He’s taught me lots of hands-on skills, lawn-mowing, coffee-making, and gardening.”
Ōtaki Hunting and Fishing have donated various items that Woodgate-Jackson will need, like boots, thermal clothing, and more, but he said he still needs money for other essentials.
Woodgate-Jackson plans to embark on his Hīkoi of Hope in the next few months, when he is able to, and will be gone for a month and a half. He plans to do the Hīkoi of Hope multiple times.
“If I feel like I need longer I’ll take one of my dogs, Tama, and probably start walking towards Taranaki, along the beach.”
• If you or someone you know needs support and treatment to reduce their alcohol intake, call the Alcohol Drug Helpline on 0800 787 797, visit their website, or free text 8681 for confidential advice.
