Wairarapa’s locally owned community newspaper
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018
INSIDE: Wor k-ready youths find success P4-5
Tinkering and toiling away P8 ARE YOU A VIP CUSTOMER? Read ‘Garden Yarn’ on Page 9 to find out if you’re one of our
LUCKY DAILY $50 VOUCHER WINNERS!
ichmond Funeral Home
FLAIR
Warmly invite you, your family and your friends to a
CHRISTMAS SERVICE OF REMEMBRANCE
to be held at the RICHMOND CHAPEL, Richmond Rd, Carterton. Sunday 9th December 2018 at 3pm
THIS IS A COMMUNITY SERVICE AND ALL ARE WELCOME ENQUIRIES TO PETER & JENNY GIDDENS 06 379 7616
FOR ALL YOUR FLOORING NEEDS See our advert in Wairarapa Property 97-101 High St North, Carterton Ph 06 379 4055
Supporting survivors of abuse Jared Renata shares his journey from addictions and abuse to wellness Emily Ireland Never give someone the keys to driving your car. That’s what Jared Renata’s mother always told him as a youngster. But only recently, after a lifetime of addictions and abuse does Jared understand the full meaning of that particular pearl of wisdom. Jared, originally from the Hawkes Bay, is a Wairarapa field support worker for MOSAIC, an organisation that offers peer-to-peer support for male survivors of sexual and child abuse. He hopes sharing his own story will encourage other men to stand up and be supported. There are many things Jared isn’t comfortable discussing even today, but he describes his childhood as “quite abusive” — “I’m from a couple of lines of generations of alcohol abuse”. To cope with the abuse, Jared began smoking cannabis at the age of 8.
By the time he was in college, he was selling — “to pay for other people’s food”. “There were a lot of kids at school that didn’t have anything to eat, so I used to sell drugs in order to give them food.” He lasted until the end of fourth form when he was eventually kicked out of school. After shifting around the North Island, he ended up back in Hawkes Bay and was introduced to speed at the age of 16, “back in the 90s”. “I was just a scared little boy, but when I was on drugs, I felt like I could take on the world. “It was a long road for me trying to identify who I was as a person. “I had all
these qualities of loving and helping people, but my lifestyle didn’t match up.” Jared became a heavy meth user when he was 20 and spent his 21st birthday at a rehabilitation centre in Marton before he was kicked out. “I was heading down a bad track and got shipped down to Wellington to work for my uncle. “Then I picked up meth again . . . I got into it quite heavy, selling the stuff.” Continued on page 3
Jared Renata, a Wairarapa field support worker for MOSAIC. PHOTO/JEREMY BRYSON