Road to Victory House : Northland facility reforms convicts through faith

Victory House house supervisor Chris Nahi and his wife Judy-Anne, who helps him co-run the addiction treatment facility. Photo/ Tania Whyte

Reforming convicted men from a life of drug use and alcohol abuse is the aim of a faith-based rehab facility Victory House. Supervisor Chris Nahi talks to the Advocate about personal struggles, embracing God and freeing people from the chains of addiction.

Nahi says his journey to recovery “wasn’t an easy one”.

But he has used his experience to start Whangārei’s own Victory House, an addiction treatment facility started in 2017 to help convicts change their lives for the better.

The facility encourages all in-house residents to complete a minimum 12 month recovery course involving community-focused activities and learning about prayer and the Bible as a way to heal before they graduate and find work.

In the early 1990s, Nahi was a local sporting sensation who got an opportunity to play professional rugby league for the Gold Coast Chargers in Australia.

A few games later, he found himself “heavily addicted” to drugs such as ecstasy and cocaine.

The former athlete blames himself for falling to peer pressure and consuming to “please his teammates”.

“Everyone was doing it, so it must be cool, I thought.”

Nahi claimed that unlike other illicit substances, the drug was known to “fizzle off” an athlete’s body within hours and made it difficult for players to test positive ahead of major games.

After the Chargers folded in 1998, he joined another team but only for a brief period.

“Towards the end of my career, I got addicted to meth and that sealed my fate.”

The side-effect of taking drugs took a huge toll on him both physically and mentally. As a result, his performance went downhill.

Not long after, he would be removed from the team and would find himself on the streets - hungry and cold.

Victory House convicts on their journey of transformation (from left): Rihari Yukich, Andrew Edwards, Beau Pio, Rhys Doctor, Brian Tito, Tyrone Saxton-Kitto, Matt Stanley, supervisor and driver Alan. Photo/ Tania Whyte.

He remembered often getting into trouble back then with the law and spending nights behind bars.

“Then one night in prison, I had this dream where I heard the voice of our lord Jesus Christ, I believe, telling me to follow him and to stay away from vice.”

But not long after getting released from jail, Nahi went back to his old ways of partying hard and taking intoxicating substances.

One morning, he woke up at a friend’s place where he had crashed after a “wild night” and felt “disgusted” with his life.

“I was sick of what I was doing to myself and what I had become. I was done with taking drugs.”

It was on his brother’s recommendation that he joined the Victory House in Australia and found his true self.

“My time spent in the house taught me to be a better human being and inspired me to start a facility in my hometown in Whangārei,” he said.

Thinking back, Nahi feels his life spiralled out of control after he felt the impact of not having a father in the household.

“I was angry all the time and somehow got kicked down the wrong path. After giving up on drugs, I realised how much family time I missed and that’s my biggest regret I have been trying to overcome,” Nahi said.

One of the house residents and reformed convict Sam Sheridan shared similar sentiments.

Sheridan, who hails from Gisborne, joined Victory House last October. He confessed that he had served several years in prison for supplying meth and driving charges.

“Till today I regret not spending much time with my lovely daughter, who never stopped believing that I could improve.”

Victory House graduate Sam Sheridan (on electronically monitored bail) hopes to start a new chapter in his life. Photo / Tania Whyte.

In fact, his 18-year-old daughter had called up Nahi and after a few conversations he was enrolled.

Sheridan said after his father died, he began to deviate from the “right path” and eventually got introduced to meth in his twenties. He became strapped for cash so decided to get into the business of selling it.

“Of course, I wasn’t the best because I got caught a few times. But it’s the past I’m not proud of,” he said.

Nahi said Sheridan is now the sixth person in the addiction programme to have graduated with flying colours.

“He is one of our success stories. But of course, we have had several convicts who were either told to leave or left on their own after they didn’t respond too well to the programme.”

Nahi said their doors were always open for people who wanted another chance in life and that “faith wasn’t hopeless if only people believed in it.”

Avneesh Vincent is the crime and emergency services reporter at the Advocate. He was previously at the Gisborne Herald as the arts and environment reporter and is passionate about covering stories that can make a difference. He joined NZME in July 2023.