About Us
Red Door Recovery is a drug and alcohol treatment centre grounded in a therapeutic whānau model, where every person who walks through our doors is met with aroha, dignity, and genuine connection. Our kaupapa is simple and powerful: manaaki te tāngata — care for the people.
Set in the quiet beauty of rural Wellington, our retreat offers the space, safety, and stillness needed for deep healing. Here, tāngata whaiora are supported by a team that brings together lived experience, clinical expertise, and a heartfelt commitment to walking alongside each person on their recovery journey. Many of our kaimahi have travelled this path themselves, and they carry that wisdom into every interaction, every group, every moment of support.
Our therapeutic whānau model creates a sense of belonging from day one. We honour the whole person — their story, their whakapapa, their strengths, and their potential. Through evidence‑based practice woven with lived experience & professional expertise, we help individuals reconnect with themselves, their whānau, and their future.
Red Door is more than a programme. It is a place where people are seen, heard, and uplifted. A place where mana is restored. A place where healing begins — and lives change.
Our Story
Red Door Recovery began with a simple act of aroha from husband and wife team, David and Tanja Collinge. After experiencing the impacts of addiction within their own whānau, they founded the Pipe Down lobby group in 2014 to advocate for better support for individuals and families affected by addiction. Their advocacy revealed a clear truth: the system needed more — more compassion, more access, more culturally grounded care.
Determined to make a difference, they opened a small day programme from their own home. Clients began referring to it as “Red Door,” named after the red front door they walked through each day — a door symbolising love, courage, and the decision to stop harmful patterns.
From this humble beginning, the Red Door Recovery residential programme was born. What started as a family home offering hope has grown into a holistic, kaupapa‑driven retreat where healing is nurtured, dignity is restored, and lives are transformed. David and Tanja’s legacy lives on in the programme, ensuring that the heart of Red Door — compassion, whānau, and unwavering belief in people — continues to guide everything we do.
