Ngati* was just eight-years-old when his father gave him his first beer.
His difficult upbringing, which he described as a “Once Were Warriors environment,” would lead him down a path filled with crime and addiction.
“There’s always something behind it – there’s always something behind that crime,” the now 49-year-old West Auckland father-of-five told Newshub.
By the time he was 14 he was drinking heavily. Before his 17th birthday he was in jail – a place that would become his second home.
Ngati says almost all of his offending was driven by addiction – first to alcohol, then to meth. He estimates he’s spent more than half his adult life behind bars.
“I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been in and out of jail. I’ve lost count.
“It got pretty bad you know, I was spending the rent money, I was hardly home and I do have a family and they suffered quite a lot in my addiction.”
But that all changed when he was given an opportunity three years ago to have his sentence transferred to the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court.
Read more HERE
First published NewsHub, 30 January, 2019
