Take It From Us with Kent Johns
If you're navigating mental health struggles, addiction or recovery — your own or someone else's — you'll hear what actually worked, what didn't and what people wish they'd known sooner.
Take It From Us features real people sharing their own journeys, unscripted and unfiltered. No theory, no talking points — just the honest, specific version of what recovery actually looks like.
Host Kent Johns is a broadcaster and health coach who believes everyone has a story worth hearing if someone takes the time to really listen. Each episode is that time.
Press play — you might hear your own story in someone else's.
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Take It From Us with Kent Johns
Suzette Jackson: 'See women as people first, not just mothers'
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Suzette Jackson has just submitted her PhD in social work at the University of Auckland, researching a unique drug treatment program for pregnant women and mothers at Higher Ground in Auckland.
Suzette is 13 years in recovery from drug addiction. Her research followed seven women - five of them Māori - at the apex of need: living in cars, multiple children removed, severe family violence.
Her big takeaway: be kind. See women as people first, not just mothers. Women who use drugs face double stigma.
Suzette would love to see these women given five years of support post-treatment with a system navigator to help hack the maze of housing, health, and Oranga Tamariki. Not a cost - an investment.
Content warning: This episode contains strong language.
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If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/
