PĀNUI
NEWS
Service Spotlight: AOD.
28 / 10 / 2025
On the foremost frontline of all our services is our AOD (Alcohol and Other Drugs) team, a dedicated group of kaimahi who hold space for some of the toughest and most transformative moments in our whānau journeys. The team spans a wide range of mahi, from group facilitation and detox nurses to AOD clinicians, and the boots-on-the-ground support from our whānau kaimahi, often the first friendly face someone sees when they’re trying to find their way through an already congested health system.
Mā mua ka kite a muri, mā muri ka ora a mua.
As our founder, Papa D, always reminds us, our whānau rarely come in with just one issue. It’s usually a shopping list of challenges, housing, mental health, addiction, employment, and everything in between. Substance use might be the loudest in that mix, but it’s never the whole story. That’s why our AOD team doesn’t just treat the symptom; they listen, they assess, they walk alongside from that very first kōrero. More often than not, that first conversation is where the healing starts.
As AOD kaimahi Dan puts it, “Most of us don’t come into this space with a glowing list of credentials, just lived experience. And sometimes that’s all we need to do this mahi.” That lived experience is the heartbeat of the team. It’s what builds trust, opens doors, and reminds whānau that they’re not alone, that recovery, healing, and reconnection are possible.
The past few months have brought some big changes and growth within the AOD space. With former AOD Manager, Vic Siitia, stepping into the newly established role of Community Operations Manager, the team continues to strengthen its leadership and connection across services. Stepping into the AOD Manager role is Withdrawals Nurse Suzanne Johnson, whose steady hand and clinical expertise bring another layer of strength to the kaupapa.
The team has also been blessed by some fresh perspectives, courtesy of new additions to the service, some with previous experience in other organisations and capacities, and others who have come into this space from within He Waka Tapu. We spoke with Abby, who has been in her role as AOD Clinician for just over three months, to ask how it’s going:
“It’s a bit like a game of netball, it can at times be fast moving and intense, with a lot of pivoting,”
giving us a clear picture of the ever-changing scope of the AOD space.
As the space moves, the vision remains, and the fires of hope burn bright. As our latest residential cohort begins their haerenga with us, we are reminded of what it took for them to come into our care, and what it will take to awhi them on this journey.
