Achieve long term recovery from alcohol & other drug use, in Auckland

Common Questions

• How do I know Wings Trust is a safe space?+

  Wings is a community of people seeking health, well-being, and recovery. This means that our community members are living pro-social lives and adhering to values of honesty as well as respect for themselves and others. Our community has zero tolerance for harm to any person or property and this will result in being discharged from our program. For clients’ peace of mind, each room has lockable cabinets for their valuables and staff/senior peers are always available for clients that have any issues or concerns.

• Will the programme help anyone become and stay clean & sober?+

  Yes, the Wings Trust programme will help anyone stay clean and sober as long as they remain open, honest, and willing throughout the therapeutic process. Change is hard, and residents need to be committed to the program and its process in order to remain abstinent long-term.

• What does a normal day look like at Wings Trust?+
  • Mornings
    Residents wake up at 7 am on weekdays to have their first-morning meeting. Breakfast and chores are usually completed after this meeting, and they head to our main house at 8:30 am for therapeutic groups and activities which end at 12pm each day.
    
  • Afternoons
    Our residents then have the afternoons to carry out their own activities that promote their health and well-being. This may include going to the gym, attending 12-step meetings, or networking and socializing with others in recovery.
    
  • Evenings
    All residents must be home for dinner at 5:30 pm on weekdays and can attend 12-step meetings in the community after dinner with a curfew of 10 pm.
    
  • Weekends
    As our program runs Monday-Friday and Whai Ora has weekends to spend with supportive family and friends and is eligible for weekend leave once they have completed their two-week settling-in period.
    
• What is treatment like? Is it like jail? Will my freedoms be taken away?+

  Our programme uses a realistic approach to treatment that doesn’t promote taking away all freedoms and placing people in confinement with limited access to the outside world.

  Instead, we believe that people are more equipped to sustain recovery when they have had the right support in developing healthy routines, gaining knowledge about their individual triggers and strategies, and building their own support networks in an environment that simulates life outside of treatment.

  Taking away certain freedoms would be counteractive to our process which is why clients have free time in the afternoons and evenings to promote independence in their journey towards health and wellbeing.

  As we encourage building solid connections with supportive loved ones, Whai Ora has full access to their phones and is able to spend afternoons and weekends strengthening and nurturing these relationships.

• What rules are part of the programme? How does it work?+

  Wings Trust has principal rules and guidelines that must be followed by our residents to ensure the ongoing health, safety, and well-being of our community and its individual members. They will also be explained to you in more depth during your settling-in period at Wings. 

  We take these principal rules seriously and any rule breaks or knowledge of rule breaks without informing staff will result in discharge from the program.

  View rules here
  

• How is Wings Trust different to other programmes across New Zealand?+

  Wings Trust is one of the only programs in New Zealand that supports the varying needs of clients whether at the beginning, middle or end of their treatment journey.

  Usually, members start with Wings at the beginning of their recovery journey with as little as 5 days clean and sober and come back to Wings once they have successfully completed rehab for a period between 4 and 12 months.

  This continuity of care model means that clients receive the right support throughout each step of the recovery journey and, by engaging in the therapeutic process for longer, have a greater chance of success in remaining abstinent once leaving the program.

• If I don’t like the programme, can I leave?+

  Yes, all residents are free to leave the program if they choose to. However, we strongly encourage Whai Ora to engage with the process for at least two weeks and complete their settling-in phase before making any decision.

• Can I see my family, children and friends?+

  As our program runs Monday-Friday and Whai Ora has weekends to spend with supportive family and friends and is eligible for weekend leave once they have completed their two-week settling-in period.

• How do I know if I’m eligible to join?+

  Read our eligibility criteria here.

  If you are unsure about whether you fit the eligibility criteria, contact us and we can help.

• How long does the admission process take?+

  Admission times can vary depending on bed availability. As a rule of thumb, we tell all Whai Ora to allow between 2-4 weeks before their bed is available. Our staff will discuss our admission process with all Whai Ora during their initial assessment and will stay in regular contact while waiting for their admission date.